Blood Bound
by Seven Malfoy
Summary: The Dark Lord used Harry's blood in his rebirth ritual, and now he's got enough of Harry's blood to spare. What if he decided to take advantage of that? Blood of the Enemy Challenge.
1. Of Rituals

Written for the "Blood of the Enemy, Forcibly Taken" Challenge

* * *

A tall slender figure moved quietly through the expansive library he had been given access to. There were few private collections that could rival the Black and Malfoy holdings in terms of rare dark tomes, with the exception of the missing Potter library simply because of its age. The Notts, however, had come as close as they could with their limited means. While he would have preferred to be able to get back to the Black library, he was more than content using Theodore Nott Sr.'s library.

The reason he was here rather than using Lucius' library was simple: the Notts had much more interest in blood rituals than the Malfoys. The Malfoys were much more interested in causing pain in a matter that did not stain the carpets; the Notts had no such preoccupation. After all, blood was powerful, and magical blood was even more powerful. He saw spilling magical blood such a waste. Although sometimes his servants needed to learn a lesson, he no longer had the leeway to murder them needlessly. He hoped to accomplish his goals without spilling any more valuable pure blood. Or any magical blood, but his followers might take offense with the inclusion of half-bloods and mudbloods. Well tough.

He already felt like it was a waste to kill that 'spare'. Cedric Diggory, if he was remembering correctly. Although his priority had been on getting his body back and subjecting Potter to some measure of humiliation. Now that the ritual had been a success, he had been able to think. At first, his plan had been to lay low, to build his strength back up, break his more loyal followers out of Azkaban, acquire the full prophecy from the Department of Mysteries, and kill Dumbledore and Harry Potter. Not particularly in that order.

But now he had a much easier plan. Get Potter to acquire the prophecy for him.

The Dark Lord Voldemort had caught a flash of something disturbing and yet intriguing during one of his meditation sessions.

Flashes of a bright sun and a garden, flashes of red, of darkness, of a dusty old room filled with broken muggle objects. Further pressing revealed entire memories and images that were not his own. Two weeks of investigation led him to understand that there was something linking him with Potter.

And he could use it to his advantage. If he could mask his presence in Potter's mind he could influence the boy into doing his bidding. For that, he would need to do some research. The trick was to open the pathway to Potter's mind without allowing Potter to realize what was going on, or worse, try and make the connection work both ways.

The Malfoys had plenty of books on the Mind Arts, but a sudden inspiration and hunch about using Potter's blood in the rebirth ritual gave the Dark Lord the idea to see if the connection could be strengthened by their blood connection. It would be harder for Dumbledore to break, and harder for Potter or his handlers to figure out, since none of them were of the inclination to study the Dark Arts in such depth. He doubted even that dog, Sirius, had any useful knowledge on the subject, having abandoned his family's ways at such a young age.

It was such a waste of potential.

The Dark Lord stopped in a familiar section of the library. It was where he found the base theory for the Dark Mark. Of course he had taken his own notes, made his own adjustments so that the spell could not be duplicated. He pulled down a book, one of the older in the library.

"_Of Masters and Servants"_

This was useful. Perhaps he could modify a spell in this to force Potter to do what he needed the boy to do. A further walk down revealed a corner filled with even older books. Possibly the books Nott had bragged about having finally gotten out of a distant relative in Rome. Some of them were not books, but were collections of spell scrolls.

"_Servi Velint"_

That looked promising. He could use that on his current batch of Death Eaters as well, maybe turn them into more of the vision he saw them as all those years ago rather than the cowering weaklings he was forced to deal with now. He could only count on one hand the number of willing servants he had access to. He could not vouch for the sanity or usefulness of those who had spent the past few years in Azkaban.

Opening the book, being careful because of the age, the Dark Lord scanned the table of contents, refreshing his Latin along the way.

"_Sanguinem Servorum_"

Blood Slaves. That was getting closer to what he needed. The Dark Lord tucked the book into his stack and quickly looked at the other books, seeing a few that he liked the looks of and took that as well.

A few minutes later, in his heavily warded chamber within the Nott Estate he took out the books. As he read he grew excited. It was a feeling of finally being able to accomplish something he had been aiming to accomplish since he started.

He would win. He possessed the means to control Potter, to make Potter his slave.

He would use the Ancient Roman ritual of blood bonding slaves to make Potter his slave. It could be accomplished within the next month once he had Severus gather the proper ingredients for the ritual. Once that was done he would do the slow process of indoctrinating the boy, and turning him into a '_Servi Velint_', a willing servant.

The Romans had a good thing going when they developed the blood bonding. Conquering tribes could select families to enslave. Each Head could bind a family to his own by using this ritual. Slaves of the same family would then be loyal to those of the binder's family. Reading further, he saw that it only applied to males. There was a different ritual to bind females through blood. But that made sense. These spells were written before Romans considered women more than just property. A woman would be seen as included in the 'deal' or as currency an owner could use to 'trade up'.

The blood bound servants could be released only by the caster or a direct descendant. It did not matter how powerful the wizard attempting to break the bond was. That was the strength with using blood.

Usually the ritual required the new master's blood and the blood from the eldest male in the family being bound. However, he didn't need Potter, because he had Potters blood already! It was rather brilliant.

The Dark Lord wondered why he had not thought to seek this type of servitude from his followers.

The answer was in the next paragraph, among the warnings. Problems of infertility and decreased magical strength were found when used on those of any magic to note. Not in the heirs who may be bound, but in the person whose blood was used to bind. That strength would add to the owner's, but it would severely limit that slave's usefulness as a magical slave. It was why the practice fell out of favor for binding pureblood slaves. There were other ways to bind a pureblood to servitude without damaging the family line. Although in this text they were referred to as pure wizards, which probably meant at the very least three of the four grandparents were magical.

He needed servants, but powerful ones. Magical blood was precious, magical heirs even more so.

So he would have to avoid damaging Potter. IF he was powerful, he would make a powerful servant. No use having such a powerful servant, one who was once loyal to Dumbledore, only to turn him into another Pettigrew because of the ritual. It meant that he would have to convert him to a willing bound servant quickly.

IT could be done. With Potter a blood servant, he could command the boy to do anything via the connection he had with him, and the boy would be forced to do so. He could then get one of his servants, perhaps Severus or that Malfoy boy, to give Potter a portkey once he was ready to become a willing servant.

Having Potter a willing servant, a marked Death Eater willing to do anything for him, thrilled the Dark Lord. Dumbledore would be devastated. His weapon, his 'chosen one', and the boy he planned on using against him; turned into the very thing he was supposed to be fighting. Sure, some of the steps he needed to take would be difficult, especially if he could not force the Ministry's hand. Perhaps Severus could be of some use when it came time to do the actual binding, but he would not rely so heavily on one man for his plan to succeed. Potter was too important.

Unless…

The Dark Lord smiled a rather sinister smile at that, and set to work.

* * *

Harry woke up, stifling another scream as he fought against the thin blanket he had become wrapped up in. Ever since that night in the graveyard, visions of being tied up against the gravestone and helpless to save Cedric haunted his dreams.

He knew that there was trouble brewing. Voldemort was back and nobody believed him! Worse, he was back at Privet Drive, locked up and unable to prepare himself to face him. Hedwig had been taken to the Burrow for 'protection' so now he couldn't even send letters out to Sirius

His relatives had not been happy to see him back, and the feeling was mutual. His back was still sore and weeping from his uncle taking his frustrations out on him. All because somehow it was his fault that the Crawford Account decided to go with a different company.

He settled into his bed, wincing as the thin mattress poked into his back. Aside from dreams about Cedric's death, his nights had only grown more confusing as the summer slowly moved on. Sometimes he would have dreams of figures in silver masks, bowing to him and telling him things. Most of it was about the Ministry, none of it useful. Hardly any of it made any sense.

Well, it wasn't like he could TELL anyone he was having strange dreams, without an owl that would stay for more than thirty seconds and all.

Still, Harry couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen. Something terrible. If he could only figure out what his dreams meant. Were they visions from Voldemort's mind? If so, how did they get in his dreams? Was it the fact that he took blood from him during that ritual?

The last one had been very disturbing. It had been about him, but the only feeling he had during the dream had been satisfaction about accomplishing some goal. The dream then morphed into a memory of Cedric's death.

Harry sighed, wiping sweat from his forehead. He was hot and thirsty, but knew that he would not be able to solve either of those problems tonight. He couldn't have water after 8 because then he'd have to 'use the bathroom and disturb decent people trying to sleep'. Nevermind that Dudley stayed up till 3 in the morning every night doing Merlin knew what in his room. Until midnight it sounded like one of his video games, but after that…

Harry sighed again, quietly. He would have to be awake soon anyway. Might as well make some use of it. Among Dudley's abandoned 'things' were books. One of those books happened to be 'World of Plants', probably from Marge or some family friend who thought Dudley would be into that type of thing. Brilliant part was, half of the plants in the book had magical properties, so he could at least study for Herbology and Potions during his exile. Heck, Harry would gladly re-read his entire Potions syllabus if it gave him something to do other than to wallow in pain at night.

Now that was a depressing thought. Potions or Death.

To distract from that disturbing train of thought, Harry pulled the book from its place and sat under a moonbeam.

"Anise was believed by the Ancients to be good for warding off sleeplessness and nightmares."

Harry almost laughed. He wished he had some now. He wondered if they put anise in Dreamless Sleep Potion, or if there was a stronger ingredient used instead.

Great, he was turning into Hermione.

But was that so bad? Taking out a stub of a pencil he had managed to rescue, Harry found a sheet of paper in one of Dudley's abandoned notebooks (of which there were many) and wrote the question down. He would do anything to keep the nightmares away.

Even if he ended up with Potions research.

* * *

The Dark Lord looked upon his servants. He still missed having Bellatrix and some of his more powerful servants in the mix, but these few had their usefulness.

"What news of the Ministry, Lucius?"

"The rumors of your return continue to circulate, but Minister Fudge and Delores Umbridge are also working to discredit Potter and Dumbledore. I have been able to find out that she wishes to get Potter expelled. How she means to do this I am unsure."

That would not do! He needed Potter at Hogwarts for his plan to work. "NO! Potter must not be expelled. Continue to deny my return, work against Dumbledore, but I have plans for Potter and he must be able to maintain his status as a student at Hogwarts in order for that to happen. If Potter is expelled than he will be taken away by Dumbledore. I need him where we can keep tabs on him until we are ready to move against Dumbledore."

Lucius nodded. "Yes, My Lord. What would you have me to do?"

The Dark Lord thought for a moment. "They wish to discredit Potter and Dumbledore? They claim that Potter is mentally unstable? Have them call into question Dumbledore's training of the young man. He is an orphan whose parents were both magical. His father was a pureblood. Have them question his home life. He lives with muggles, does he not, Severus?"

Severus froze. "Yes, my Lord. He does. They no doubt spoil him, treat him like a prince."

The Dark Lord frowned. "Now Severus, I merely asked if he lived with muggles. I did not ask for your opinion on how they treat him. In any case he would not have been raised in a magical environment. Find a way to bring that up, Lucius. Make the issue about Dumbledore hiding Potter away in some hole every summer rather than out socializing with the proper sorts of wizards his age. Make it seem as though his claims that I have risen are mere cries for help to an outer world, hoping that someone will read the signs for what they are and return him to his rightful place in society."

"Question why, after all these years, and with the threat gone, why would Potter not seek attention, in grander and grander displays, when he is a prisoner of the Headmaster. He attends Hogwarts under Dumbledore's watchful eye, is returned to a muggle prison every summer, and is only released when Dumbledore sees fit. When he is in public he is only seen in the company of Dumbledore loyalists. Do everything you must to undermine Dumbledore, and make it seem as though Potter is a victim. Dumbledore is a powerful wizard, and Potter is a mere boy, raised by muggles and thus ignorant of all the ways Dumbledore can twist his very thoughts and actions."

Lucius was nodding. Even he could see the benefit to this. Dumbledore was already a person non grata in the Ministry. Making it seem as though he was taking advantage of an orphan would throw the sheep in the Ministry into a frenzy.

"Yes, My Lord."

"Good. You all may go. Severus, please stay a moment."

"Yes, My Lord."

"What news of the Order? Has Dumbledore reformed it yet?"

Severus nodded. "Yes. He wished to use the Black House, but the mutt has refused him. He has made other accommodations, but I am unable to share them."

The Dark Lord nodded. He suspected that Dumbledore would do something like that.

"I understand that you are my spy, my eyes within Dumbledore's circle. He trusts you. But can I trust you?"

"Yes, My Lord. I am loyal only to you."

"I would like to be sure. Your mark, Severus."

Severus rolled up the sleeves to his robes, revealing the Dark Mark, which twisted and almost glowed in the presence of its maker.

"Though servant thou may be. Do you pledge your magic to being a loyal servant?"

The Dark Lord saw the hesitation on Severus' face, and dove into his mind. There he saw flashes of red hair, of green eyes, of Potter broken, bloodied, half-carrying the unconscious body of a younger redhaired girl. He saw Potter defiant, defending the werewolf and the dog. He knew that Snape's loyalty issues were not because of anything Dumbledore had one, but because of Potter, and more likely, his mudbood Evans.

"I see. Stand up Severus."

"Yes, My Lord."

"Your loyalty is not true to me. You serve me, but only out of duty. You would ally yourself against me if you felt that you could best serve the memory of that girl. As much as you despised the father, you love the mother, and you see enough of her in him to make him your priority."

"My Lord, I…"

"Do not lie Severus. I am preparing to be lenient. She died protecting the boy. I gave her the chance to step aside and she would not. She begged that I kill her rather than attempt to kill the boy. But alas, what is done is done. She is dead. Would she have mourned you, had it been you who died at the hands of Dumbledore?"

Severus looked conflicted. The Dark Lord pressed on.

"Do not let your love for her cloud your judgment. Do not allow Dumbledore's empty promises of ultimate redemption obscure the truth. I held up my end of the bargain we had, Severus. I attempted to spare her life. In the end she was in my way. I do not hesitate when it comes to threats, nor should any other witch or wizard. If you are not a threat to me, I am not a threat to you. Can you say the same of Dumbledore? Has he held up his end of your bargain with him? Has he always looked out for your best interest, or do others always come first?"

Snape simply looked at the Dark Lord. HIs eyes reflected an inner conflict, turmoil.

"I say no. From when you first started at Hogwarts, I surmise, the fact that you were a Slytherin, from a dark house and a dark family, he saw no good in you. He saw only how he could use you, how he could twist your pain for his use. And then what? Once he has no further use for you, say, if I banish you with the threat to have you killed should you be found in my presence again. What then? Would he keep you at that school, teaching students raised to judge you based on your past and not your merits?"

"You see, Severus. I have offered you much more than that. And I offer you the chance now to take advantage of my generosity. Declare loyalty to me. Fealty. Prove to me that I am your one true master. Do not let Dumbledore's empty promises sway you."

Severus kneeled again, presenting his marked arm. "My Lord"

The Dark Lord nodded appreciatively, and whispered the spell of willful bondage. He could feel the bond between Severus' mark and him strengthen.

"Rise. Severus. You will not speak of this conversation to anyone. You will go and acquire these ingredients as quickly as you can. The ritual must be done before the end of the summer. If Dumbledore asks you about what I have been doing, mention that I have been keeping a 'low profile', and have issued orders to undermine him at the Ministry. Mention nothing about Potter. It would be best to keep them both surprised. Although from what my other sources have gathered, Dumbledore is doing quite the job for me in keeping the boy isolated from his peers. It will be easier to get to him, that way."

"Yes, My Lord." was Severus' reply.

"Oh, and Severus? I have plans for Potter. Don't antagonize him. It could come out very poorly for you in the end if you do."

* * *

Snape was much more efficient than the Dark Lord had given him credit. It was like having the Old Severus back, the one who had served him before the mudblood and Dumbledore got in the way. The ritual did not require ingredients that needed to be gathered at select times, but some ingredients were quite rare and Snape could have chosen to 'delay'. Instead he followed the instructions, including the modifications that had been made. The modified ritual, which allowed for the subjugation of a person who shared the same blood as the binder, was similar in most other ways except for the actual ritual layout and a few ingredients particular to an _obidens puer_ potion.

He would still be able to release Potter at any point, but there was actually less risk of damage to Potter's magic as long as the binding didn't stay on beyond the teen's 16th birthday.

The Dark Lord prepared himself mentally and physically for the ritual. The potions were ready, the ritual circle was ready, and Potter was ready.

Potter was currently in Ministry Protective Custody following Lucius' rather brilliant power play involving Potter, Fudge and Dumbledore. By insinuating that Potter only believed himself to be in danger because Dumbledore insisted there was danger, Lucius called into question Dumbledore's sanity. By hinting to the Minister that the way to prove Dumbledore wrong was to remove Potter from his 'protective care', Lucius was able to undermine Dumbledore while still making it look like he supported Fudge.

An unexpected boon happened when a group of Ministry officials went to visit Potter in his muggle home to 'verify the safety of said home' only to find the boy half-starved, beaten and behind a door with over a dozen locks on it. Now Fudge was a hero for 'rescuing' the 'boy-hero' and Lucius had built up more political clout than ever before. Dumbledore was no longer allowed to speak to Potter or on his behalf, and Potter was living with the family of one of his followers. Sure, Elisabeth Rosier Belby was married to a rather neutral and unremarkable man, but she held the beliefs of her family just as fanatically as Evan did.

Plus, she was a healer. As soon as the idea the Potter be taken to a healer happened, Lucius swept in and recommended that the boy be given a private healer because of his 'status'. Elisabeth Belby was recommended, and Potter was quickly taken to her home.

Now Potter was in a magically-induced coma, for his own safety and to help him heal from his injuries. The sun had set. It was time to begin.

This particular ritual area was a circular stone table with a hollowed out indentation where potions could be poured in. There were holes around the entire perimeter where rune pillars could be placed in any pattern depending on the ritual. Surrounding the platform were three bowls on short pillars, where charging potions could be placed to protect the person or persons conducting the ritual. Tonight it was set up with a rune pillar at each of the Five Points, with a large bowl resting in the indentation in the centre. Inside the bowl was the ornate potion that he had brewed, not even trusting Severus with the delicate task.

The Dark Lord lit the first bundle of herbs: Sandalwood, Hyssop, Galangal and Myrrh. He selected these because they would make the consecration strongest. If he was going to bless his circle he was going to do it properly.

"I consecrate this circle and this space for the Act that shall take place in this space."

He passed the bundle around the table three times, repeating that same line, before breaking the bundle into three and placing it in the three bowls outside the circle. He picked up the silver knife that had been sitting over the bubbling chalice and sliced his left hand, and held his hand over the chalice.

"Blood is shed, so that it may be bound."

The blood dripped into the bowl, causing the potion within to stop bubbling. As the colour changed to the right shade of purple Voldemort withdrew his hand. He healed it and pricked his middle finger. Touching each rune pillar in the prescribed order, he spoke again.

"I set myself as binder, so that they who must be bound have a Master to bind them."

The runes absorbed his blood and began to glow. The Dark Lord then took the second bundle, the bundle of binding, and stirred the potion, watching as the bundle dissolved and the potion turned fluorescent. While doing this, he spoke.

"I bind one of my blood to me for his protection. May he be protected by this Act under my service."

After stirring the required 12 times, the bundle vanished into the potion and it began to smoke again. The Dark Lord picked up the bowl and poured it into the indentation, where the potion immediately began to bubble and roil.

"I bind Harry James Potter by blood to my service. I bind his magic to my purpose; I bind his will to my own. I sever any bindings that may be on him and take precedence over him by virtue of his blood shed for this Act. We are of the same blood; bind him in obedience to me. I set myself as his Master, and he as my Servant, so mote it be."

The potion flashed white and worked its way out to the runes. The rune stones absorbed the potion and there was another flash of purple light, followed by several flashes of multi-colored light. He felt compelled to touch the glowing potion with his finger, and he used the finger he had recently pricked, touching it to the surface of the potion.

The Dark Lord felt an odd sensation, and looked down to see that along his middle left finger there was a stylized M surrounded by a glowing green band. ON each side of the M there were two snake heads, fangs bared and enclosing shields. On the left shield was a depiction of his Dark Mark, on the right was the symbol of the Slytherin Family. The design on his finger vanished, but the potion continued to glow brighter and brighter until there was a final flash.

Sitting in the now-empty basin was a silver band, carved with his Dark Mark on one side, and the same seal of Slytherin on the other side. Picking it up he saw that the band glowed green at his touch, and the band on his finger reappeared. It was featherlight, and inside was the inscription _Sanguinem Servorum. _

The band was even prettier up close, with two small snakes around the outside, one whose tail formed a stylized S. Upon closer inspection Dark Lord saw that the S was actually doubled, and that the second snake's tail was almost directly behind it. Inside, on the side directly opposite the S and facing the phrase _Sanguinem Sevorum were _the heads of both snakes, whose fangs were bared as if ready to strike.

The band continued to warm and glow at his touch, and the Dark Lord could feel the magical connection between himself and the band, more than he could feel the connection between himself and his servants through the Dark Mark. He knew the connection would only strengthen once the band was placed on Potter's ankle.

The ritual had worked.

* * *

A few days later and Elisabeth had arranged for her husband and son to be out of the house completely. They could not be trusted, not with a matter as delicate as this.

"My Lord." Elisabeth bowed low as the Dark Lord crossed the threshold of the modest Tudor.

"Where is he?"

"In his own suite on the third floor." Elisabeth replied. The Dark Lord followed Elisabeth, wand trained on her back should she decide to cross him.

"Here, My Lord. He sleeps fitfully, but his health has been improving. The Ministry took most of his muggle clothes as evidence, and I have managed to heal most of the scars now, even the ones that should have been healed years ago once he started attending Hogwarts. Muggles are foul."

The Dark Lord took in the still too-skinny boy resting on the bed.

"Show me his left ankle."

Elisabeth bent to do just that, pulling the covers back and revealing the boy's feet, which were wrapped in muslin.

"His ankles had been badly broken several times and never quite healed properly. He will likely feel like a new person upon waking, with all of the lingering injuries and pain removed. Some of the injuries were so old I'm sure he's never known what it's like to not be in some pain."

The Dark Lord frowned. Was Dumbledore still so blind about the evils of Muggles?

"Thank You, Elisabeth. Continue to care for him. Unrwap his left ankle."

Elisabeth did as instructed. The Dark Lord bent over the ankle, taking out the silver band created by the ritual.

"I thus bind thee to me." The band opened and enclosed Potter's ankle.

The Dark Lord stepped back as Potter began to convulse. Flashes of light began going up from the band on his ankle, reaching all his other extremities in pulses that kept growing faster and faster.

Wind began rushing around the room as several large snapping sounds could be heard, and an unholy scream was ripped out of Potter's throat.

Elisabeth covered her ears and continued to watch Potter to make sure he would not come to any permanent harm, the Dark Lord was simply fascinated since there was no indication that this would happen according to his research. Perhaps there was more going on than he previously thought.

After what felt like ages, but was merely five minutes, Potter stopped screaming and the flashes stopped. The Dark Lord stepped in and observed the band disappearing into Potter's skin, faint puncture marks where the snake heads had been the only indication that anything had been there, and soon those faded as well. Touching the ankle again the design reappeared, with the two snakes now facing outward, mouths open and wrapped over his two shields: the Slytherin seal and his Dark Mark. Just like on his finger, they appeared to be holding the shields in their mouths. In between the two heads was the double S signifying Potter's position as a blood servant. The design glowed a faint green, and the symbol on his finger reappeared as well.

Satisfied, he stood up.

"_Obliviate" _The Dark Lord carefully removed the memory of his visit, planting the memory of a standard Ministry visit to check on a ward's health. He withdrew from her mind just as easily as he had slipped in.

"Wrap his ankle back up, and continue to bring him back to optimal health. You're doing a good job and the Ministry remembers those who do a good job."

"Yes sir." Elisabeth replied.

The Dark Lord left the boy in the Healer's care, satisfied that his plan was a success.

* * *

"Ah Lucius. How are young Mr. Malfoy's preparations going for the new school year?"

"Well, My Lord. He is eager to do his shopping. All have been instructed to fall in line. They are not to speak of your return in public, but will keep an eye out for potential followers."

"Good. Good." The Dark Lord replied. "Tell young Mr. Malfoy that he has a task, specially assigned by myself. Failure is not an option."

"Yes, my Lord. What will you have him to do?"

"Befriend Mr. Potter, and separate him from his blood traitors. If he can bring another into the fold who is worthy of us, so be it."

Lucius swallowed. That would be difficult for Draco to accomplish, but the Dark Lord would not be denied. If he thought the boy could be turned now that he was out of Dumbledore's control, he would help in any way.

"Yes, my Lord. It will be done."


	2. Of Masters and Servants

A/Ns

Warning: mild hints of punishment and indoctrination later in the chapter.

Thank You All for the awesome response to this story.

And now to quickly answer two questions:

For my anon reviewer and anyone else who may be curious about how the ritual worked when they technically have the 'same blood', the Dark Lord was able to successfully combine the Blood Servant ritual with a ritual for disobedient children. This is the man who made multiple horcruxes in canon, combining rituals so that they recognize him and Harry as two different people despite only using one person's blood is not beyond the scope of his intelligence. Even Canon Dumbledore acknowledged that Tom Riddle was smart.

Secondly, for my reviewer who wondered about the 'blood protections', my understanding is that the blood protections themselves did not prevent them from harming each other. I believe the pain Harry experienced was due to the Horcrux. Throughout the series, Harry experiences pain in his Horcrux/scar when near Voldemort, but (correct me if I'm wrong via pm) Voldemort does not experience pain when touching Harry after the resurrection ritual. Thus the blood protection portion of that equation ended at the resurrection.

Curiously enough, Harry did not have any reaction to Diary Riddle or when he was in the same room as the Diadem in 6th year. I'll have to go back and see if there was a reaction in the Forbidden Forest or in the graveyard before the ritual began. But for purposes of my story none of that matters. Rituals negated Lily's spell(s).

In short: This is my story/response to a challenge. The canon blood protections went away as soon as the blood was used to raise the Dark Lord from the ether.

* * *

Harry was gone.

The tragedy of that was, it was Albus' fault, and he knew it.

Albus Dumbledore was having a rough summer. First, Riddle managed to find a way back to the land of the living earlier than Dumbledore would have thought. Then, in the same night, he found out that his long-time friend Alastor had actually been kidnapped and replaced with an imposter. In the space of six hours he was made to look incompetent by not noticing that one of his closest allies was not who he said he was. Plus, nobody had believed Harry when he claimed to be at the resurrection of Voldemort.

That next day Dumbledore had spent half the day arguing with the Wizengamot and Fudge about taking precautions against Voldemort and his Death Eaters, only to be called senile and all matter of names. They called poor Harry a liar, an attention seeking-brat, and all other manner of names, despite the fact that he was very obviously bleeding from a knife wound when none of the champions or stunts in the maze should have been capable of giving him such a wound.

He promised that they would see the error of their ways, but he knew that as long as people like Lucius Malfoy continued to hold Cornelius' ears and pockets that his warnings would fall on deaf ears. So he gathered the old guard, those who could still be found, and tried to conference about reforming the Order of the Phoenix.

Unfortunately, the prior hosts of the meetings were either dead or in the permanent injury ward of St. Mungos. For the longest time full meetings had happened at Fabian and Gideon's cottage outside of London, and when they were killed Frank and Alice volunteered her mother's home in a small magical village near Nottingham. Both of those properties were gone. The first sold to help Molly with expenses, the second unavailable because Alice's mother refused to give aid to who she called 'the man that got her daughter nearly killed'.

That left the Weasleys and Sirius Black as the only people with homes large enough to accommodate full Order meeting as well as being able to provide spare beds if needed. Sirius' childhood home would be best, since it was in central London and Dumbledore would take a sort of perverse satisfaction out of repurposing the home of people who had refused to back him for so many years.

But true to his forefathers, Sirius refused. He was away from England getting 'treatment' for his false imprisonment, and he would not return to England just so that Dumbledore could have a place to hold meetings. Not even the promise of seeing Harry again would sway the stubborn man. Granted, Albus' terms were not ideal: Sirius would have to stay within the four walls of Grimmuald Place whether there was a meeting going on or not, and could not retreat to the other Black properties or to the 'wherever he was' that did not see him as a criminal.

Sirius countered with the unsettlingly logical reasoning that even if he allowed them to use Grimmuald Place, he would not be allowed to treat Harry he wanted to, he would be constantly watched by other Order members, and he would be useless to Harry without finishing his treatments, which he would not be allowed to do under Dumbledore's rule. Plus Pettigrew was with Voldemort, so there wasn't even the possibility of revenge.

But Dumbledore could not allow Sirius free reign around Harry, Harry might get ideas. Even when Dumbledore threatened to report his whereabouts to the authorities, Sirius simply laughed and asked 'how?' and then 'how do you think they will find me? I am heavily warded and I am only responding to your letters because I was curious about what you would say. Do you think I am so naïve as to allow myself to be recaptured after being threatened with the Kiss on sight? Even if I return I will not get my fair trial. If you could not give it to me when I was arrested while Pettigrew was still out, and you could not vouch for me the way you vouched for Snape what assurances do I have that you will treat me and my house fairly? '

So that left Dumbledore with using the Burrow until better arrangements could be made. Molly was more than happy to play hostess, but it was obvious at the first meeting that the Burrow would be a woefully inadequate permanent solution. Meanwhile things had gotten slightly worse and Dumbledore worried that Harry would be bombarded over the summer with letters and be tempted to communicate with his friends over the summer, possibly alerting Death Eaters to his location, so he took Hedwig and promised Harry that he could have the bird once he returned to Hogwarts.

Nevermind that in the very next sentence he told the reluctant teen that he 'had' to return to Privet Drive since it was the 'safest place for him.' The Headmaster was thankful that Harry still trusted him completely, took both statements at face value without thinking about them and went off for the summer. It wasn't so much about controlling Harry as controlling those who had influence over Harry, but still. Dumbledore knew what happened the last time someone with as much magical potential was left to his own devices; he became a Dark Lord who found the secrets to immortality.

Everything was fine for two whole weeks, and then the Minister called him into his office with 'questions' about Harry. Cornelius asked about Harry's home life, asked about those muggles he had met before, asked how he got along with them, asked about how the muggles handled Harry's attendance at Hogwarts.

Dumbledore realized too late that they were not merely asking after Harry's wellbeing, but questioning Harry's sanity _because _he lived with muggles during the summer and had little contact with wizards during the summer months. They accused him of stunting Harry's growth by secluding him away from 'normal' witches and wizards to fill his head full of ideas, then taking away any means he had of communicating with the outside world. How they found out about that, the Headmaster had few guesses.

Worse, when he tried to tell them that it was dangerous for Harry to be out, they wanted to know why. When he explained the danger of Voldemort and his Death Eaters, the Minister merely laughed, saying that Crouch Jr. was an anomaly and that the Headmaster must be getting dotty in his old age.

Needless to say, the meeting ended poorly for the Headmaster. They agreed to a compromise. He would go with Minister Fudge, an Auror of the Minister's choice and a Mind Healer to check on Harry. Dumbledore had been against the Mind Healer, simply because he knew the Dursleys weren't exactly the best examples of muggles, and they didn't have the best relationship with wizards in particular, including their nephew, so things might look worse than what they really were.

Still, he had been able to talk Fudge into ensuring that Harry stayed with the muggles before by insisting they were the only people available who could take care of him. Now that argument was shot to pieces, since his opponents were using 'Harry's' past magical outbursts against his muggle relatives as evidence that it was not a stable enough home environment for a growing wizard, that the muggles were doing something to him and that his past 'attention-seeking behaviour' was just his crying out for help the only way that people seemed to respond.

The next day was a nightmare. They had gone in under the guise of 'doing a health check on adopted wizards.', only for Petunia to reveal that she never formally adopted Harry, that he had just been thrust upon them like an unwanted fruitcake. Things only got worse for Dumbledore when the Auror asked to see Harry, to be denied for nearly a half hour only to be reluctantly shown to a room covered in locks containing a clearly injured Harry Potter whose back was clearly bleeding and who was suffering from an infection and a possibly broken ankle. The room was filthy, there was a small bucket in the corner that Vernon Dursley frowned at and snapped at the boy to 'empty his mess before he stunk up the whole place' not fully comprehending Dumbledore's subtle hints to cool his temper. Worse was the boy's then feeble attempt to get up to follow his uncle's orders despite the injured ankle, his back and the fact that the boy looked like he had not had a proper meal since leaving Hogwarts. The boy nearly fell four times before the group got over their shock at the situation and jumped into action.

Fudge had been embarrassed, the Auror had called for backup, and the Mind Healer had immediately taken Harry away to St. Mungos. The day only got worse, when the Aurors began investigating Harry's treatment and found out about the 'cupboard' where all his school stuff had been taken and locked away, preventing Harry from even working on his homework.

The small mattress in the cupboard, the small crayon scratches on the inside of the door, the locks on the outside of the cupboard and the other small signs that a small child had been kept there for long periods of time sealed Dumbledore's fate.

He was not allowed to contact Harry, neither directly nor indirectly until the investigation was complete. Harry would be placed with a 'proper wizard family' so that he could begin his 'rehabilitation'. The Ministry would stop its smear campaign against the youth, since clearly he was being abused. There was a lot of blame going around, and most of it was going towards Dumbledore.

He tried to placate Fudge and the Ministry. If this got out it would be almost like declaring open season on muggles. Despite the first article of many attempting to paint a smear campaign against Harry, if regular witches and wizards found out that the 'boy-who-lived' had been abused almost ritualistically by the muggles he had been living with for his 'safety', Dumbledore feared what that would do for his muggle-rights initiatives. This type of controversy would be fuel to the fire for the likes of Lucius Malfoy and Voldemort.

Dumbledore was filled with righteous anger against Vernon and Petunia for the blatant disregard they seemed to have for the health and wellbeing of one of their own relatives, he really was. He just could not have the streets filled with vigilantes crying for muggle blood over the abuse of an underage wizard.

As Dumbledore sat in his office, his whirring instruments still now that the wards were gone from Privet Drive, he wondered where he had failed, when he had gotten so big that he stopped seeing the child instead of the hero. It was a wonder that Harry was not darker than he was.

There were times, sure, when Albus saw that darkness lingering beneath the surface. The boy who was _almost _a Slytherin was now living with a 'proper wizarding family'. The only details he had been given was that the wife was a healer who specialized in young children, the family was well off and had more than enough space to give to Mr. Potter, and that he would be 'undergoing treatment' to help cure Harry of the scars he suffered at the hands of those muggles.

Knowing what he knew of Fudge and the others who had influence over his decisions, he knew that the 'proper' family was likely a Dark one, Voldemort sympathizers who would try and indoctrinate Harry, poison him against muggles and muggleborns.

The Harry he had known for four years would be gone. Possibly forever. Albus wished things had turned out differently, that he had been a little more observant and a little less dependent on his belief that family would always look out for family. Now Albus' only fear was who would pay the price for his latest mistake.

* * *

The Dark Lord smiled as he read Elisabeth's report on Potter's health. He was recovering nicely. He was awake and dealing with being in a new house, but because he was unaware of her maiden name he did not complain. Especially when she mentioned that he was there under 'Ministry Protection'. Potter had been resistant at the very beginning, but now was being compliant with all of his 'therapy', which included a lot of indoctrination and training.

Now, however, it was time to test his control over his new toy.

The Dark Lord sat back down at his desk and began composing his orders.

* * *

Harry woke up to the amazing smell of his breakfast tray and hurried to get out of bed and into the bathroom so that he could eat.

Breakfast every morning coupled with his now ravenous appetite, were new developments this summer. The summer had started off horribly, but now he was having the best summer of his life, even if he was still a little concerned about how he got in his current situation.

When he first woke up two weeks ago, he had panicked, convinced he had been kidnapped by Death Eaters. A Mind Healer, Madam Brown, and a nurse, Madam Belby, came in and explained the situation to him. Apparently he was under Ministry Protection because of the allegations he lodged about Voldemort's return. The Minister and an Auror had come with Dumbledore and Madam Brown to take his statement and had found him beaten and nearly passed out at the Dursleys.

When he tried to explain that Voldemort really had returned and that he had been kidnapped and used in a dark ritual, the Mind Healer simply shook her head. She explained to him that there was no unusual activity reported for the night in question, and a ritual like that would have caused a large magical backlash that would have registered in the Ministry. She also explained that the 'duel' he described could not have had that result. It was plausible that he had been kidnapped, along with Cedric Diggory, and that Diggory had been a victim of some sick and twisted plot to make him 'believe' that he-who-must-not-be-named had returned.

Still, there was a tangible threat against Harry, since someone was determined to cause him physical, mental and emotional harm. Hence the Ministry stepping in to protect him by placing him with a neutral third party until the 'mess' got sorted out.

He asked about sending letters to his friends, but was told that he would be able to send his friends a short note, but that he would need to spend most of his time recovering, healing and studying to make up for the summer work he had already missed doing.

So Harry started studying and learning under the tutelage of Madam Belby, his nurse. She was very knowledgeable in all sorts of subjects. She had also been appalled at how 'lacking' his education had been so far. So Harry had spent the last three weeks studying and catching up in Potions, Charms, Astronomy and learning about the Wizengamot and all sorts of protocol stuff. Part of that had been learning important family trees, most notably the different ranks a pureblood family could have. At first he had been against learning the snooty pureblood protocol stuff, but some of it had been interesting.

Everything was a lesson. There was etiquette, formal and informal greetings, addressing superiors, even at which point it was proper for a person to start using informal address with associates. At first Harry thought it was a bunch of pretentious rot, wondering who would care what he called his friends. Three weeks later, however, and Harry was starting to see that it was just about being polite.

Madam Belby was constantly harping about the importance of following rules of etiquette. Once he started learning them, he had to write lines whenever he forgot to do something. Just last night he had to write lines because he forgot the 'Professor' when discussing Snape.

Today they would be starting History and Culture, replacing Astronomy and Charms. He would be in Potions remediation till the end of break, he assumed. Not that he minded, since he was finally starting to understand the methods behind the brewing.

Just as he was finishing his breakfast, complete with his potion regiment, Madam Belby walked in carrying a letter.

"This letter came for you. It will illustrate your 'situation' better. When you have finished reading it write to Gringotts. You are almost fifteen. You should start getting monthly statements. You will also need to start a correspondence course with them so that you can learn to handle your family finances. I'm sure your account manager has been keeping the vaults full, but it would be best if you took over before someone started taking advantage of your _situation_."

"Yes ma'am. I was under the impression I only had my trust vault, but I suppose it makes sense that I would have more than that, seeing how old the family is."

Madam Belby nodded. "Well we have already discussed your woeful ignorance. Set to it. You will have until eleven. At that time I expect you to be downstairs with the letter written."

"Yes ma'am."

Madam Belby left, and Harry examined he wax seal, trying to determine who had sent him the letter. The letter was sealed with what looked like an older version of the Slytherin House seal, and there was only one person he knew who would use that. Harry hoped that was not the case.

_Servant. _

_As you are well aware, you were rescued from the muggles you live with by the Ministry. It was my instructions that led them to you. Do not let anyone tell you differently. _

_As a part of your repayment to me for my kindness, I have bound you to me. You are my servant. If you lift up your left ankle and whisper 'Master' you will see the mark of your binding. There is nothing you can do about it. _

_Here are my orders. You will learn everything Elisabeth Belby teaches you. You will become the best example of pureblood decorum, rivalling those who were raised in our society. You will not ever say or write the name Voldemort again. When you speak or write, you shall call him 'You-Know-Who' until told otherwise. You will deny his return. As far as you are concerned, you were kidnapped by rogues who dressed up as Death Eaters and killed Diggory. They wanted to scare you, and they succeeded. It was Dumbledore who pressed you into saying that those rogues raised the Dark Lord back to power. _

_You will write several people, apologizing for your slights to their person and position, and ask for forgiveness. From this moment forward, you will cease all contact with blood traitors. We will discuss the exact parameters for this restriction when we meet. You will have NO contact with Dumbledore, neither in person, by writing, by floo, by phoenix or through another person using any of those methods. You will report any person spying on you to me. _

_You will be in communication with me every Wednesday from the moment you get this letter until I release you from that obligation. That is in addition to any other communication I require from you. You will not speak of who I am to any person, living, dead, portrait or otherwise sentient. You will not inform anyone that what you are doing is because you have been issued orders. You will not be an embarrassment to me. _

_These are my orders. _

_Master_

Harry froze in panic. He looked at the seal again and dread coiled in his stomach. He knew if he lifted the cuff of his pants he would find that mark on his ankle. Somehow V…

Harry clenched as even attempting to think the true name of You-Know-Who caused his chest to constrict and his arms and legs to feel like they were being set on fire. After what seemed to be an eternity, the pain faded.

Harry knew that his master was the newly risen Dark Lord. Harry could not quite decide what was worse, that he was now under the control of he-who-should-not-be-named or that he was going to have to do some painful things, and he couldn't even hint that he was being controlled by someone else. He couldn't turn to Dumbledore. He learned the first day that he was not allowed to contact his Headmaster. Now he couldn't even 'hint' to someone as to what was going on.

How would he survive? Who knew how long he'd have to 'serve' he-who-must-not-be-named? If he didn't have Ron or Hermione to talk to whom else would he talk to?

Despite wanting to, Harry didn't have time to crawl into bed in a depressed heap. He knew from the sound his bedside clock had just made that he only had an hour to write the letter to Gringotts, and it had to be perfect; no blotches and perfectly legible penmanship. He was getting faster with a quill but Madam Belby was never satisfied. She used phrases like 'horrendous' and 'an affront to decent writing everywhere'. With his _Master's _orders he would have to exceed his previous performance in order to keep those annoying sharp pains at bay.

Maybe he could send a letter to Sirius. Even if there was nothing Sirius could do having a semi-sane person on his side would help him endure the enforced exile from everything he had known up to this point.

* * *

Sirius had been in a panic for the better part of the last month and a half. First he finds out that Dumbledore took Harry's owl so that he would not be 'tempted' to communicate with anyone while staying with the Dursleys. It was a ridiculous idea, and dangerous given the current situation. What would Harry do if there was an emergency and he needed to contact someone? It wasn't like he could use muggle means to call. The Dursleys didn't have a floo and he doubted Harry knew that many floo addresses anyway. Harry's ignorance had been fully on display the past two years, and Sirius doubted anybody had been trying to integrate the youngest Potter into society.

The idea that nobody seemed to care about Harry's future after Hogwarts sent Sirius' thoughts down a dark path. So instead of focusing on those depressing thoughts, he focused on recovery from Azkaban.

Then he found out that Harry had been taken from the muggles he lived with because the Ministry was afraid that the 'complete isolation from normal society' was negatively affecting Harry's judgment, ability to function in society, and ability to discern facts from imagination. There were subtle hints of abuse, especially given that the person fostering him was a trained healer.

After that Sirius tried sending Harry letters, but each one came back unopened, which he knew was completely unlike the pup. As heavily coded as the letter was, he didn't think anybody but Harry could understand what was being said. Although, it could be that Sirius was being panicky, and that _all _of Harry's letters were being screened and that only certain people were allowed to talk to him.

That disturbed Sirius, but then he got a letter from Harry that scared him to his core. Harry had been affected by dark, ancient magic. Without saying it in so many words, Harry had managed to tell him that a powerful and dangerous wizard had orchestrated his 'release' from the Dursleys in order to make him a servant. When Harry described the 'mark' he found on his ankle, Sirius had never heard of it, but the fact that he had a mark at all was troublesome.

The sketch of the mark on Harry's ankle led Sirius to understand that Voldemort had gotten control over Harry, which was trouble, deep trouble, for everyone. However, it had taken going back to Grimmuald Place for Sirius to understand how bad things were.

Harry was Voldemort's blood servant. That was as bad as things could get. Harry could not disobey direct orders from Voldemort, or else his magic would kill him. Harry was already experiencing severe pain because of the decision to write the letter to Sirius. He had been forbidden from talking to 'blood traitors' or telling anybody that he had been made a servant. Sirius agreed with Harry's speculation that Voldemort would try and separate him from any and all Dumbledore supporters.

That would spell trouble, especially if Voldemort expected Harry to associate with the children of other Death Eaters. They may function, but none of the true emotional support that existed between real friends would be available to Harry.

As Sirius sat in the home he swore he never would return to, he contemplated his options. He could go to Dumbledore, or he could try and solve it on his own. Sirius ruled out Dumbledore as soon as he thought about it. There was no telling what he would try to do to Harry in order to exploit the master-servant link. They had already been talking rather ominously about Harry's scar and how it always seemed to react whenever Voldemort was nearby. Not only that, but from what Harry wrote and he read about the blood servant link, even actions he took could affect Harry.

So after thinking, studying, and thinking some more Sirius decided he needed to talk to an expert in the Dark Arts, someone he never thought he'd ever need to have a civil conversation with again.

Now, standing in the hallway, he pulled the curtain back, covering a wince as the portrait began screeching. As he stood there calmly he waited for her to notice that he wasn't responding, and wasn't ducking his head and rushing away. When she finally went silent, he smirked.

"Hello, Mother."

* * *

It was all Harry could do not to shake like a leaf. He balled his hands into a fist, and willed the images to go away.

Since receiving the letter from his Master, whenever he wasn't studying Potions or Etiquette, he was being assaulted by images of war, famine, and unspeakable horror. The pictures, and memories, were of muggles attacking each other and wizards. The books were full of accounts of young witches and wizards, too young for formal training, being attacked because of their accidental magic.

It was a scenario that hit a little too close to home. It was what made his study of History so uncomfortable. Binns never covered this stuff, usually sticking to pure wizard history or goblin wars or the like. Not these nightmares where muggles took out all their frustrations on innocent witches and wizards. All Harry could see were before and after images; children playing happily in a field, watching some older witch or wizard do something with a wand, flying around on smaller toy brooms, and then tragedy. Those same faces appeared again; sometimes broken in pain, bloodied and drawn in horror.

The vilest were the pensive memories. You could feel the terror and witness the intentional infliction of pain. It was easy at first to dismiss the pictures and written stories as propaganda, but the live memories were apparent, and some of them were uncomfortably recent. Although the memories were a part of the public record because they had been used in a trial, there was still something horrific about seeing the memories of muggle attacks live and in colour.

At first he wasn't as bothered by the memories, believing that they pulled the worst ones for him to view in order to convince him of the 'evil of muggles'. That was before he recognized one of them as a memory HE provided to his Mind Healer the first week of his 'rehablilitation'. Seeing the small five-year-old version of himself cradling a broken arm as Vernon spit insults at him mixed in among similar memories spread across the decades broke something in him. When the nightmares began, it was Vernon's face he saw. Even the older pictures started looking like Vernon and Petunia rather than the faceless muggles they had been before. It was disturbing and he often had trouble thinking of muggles as anything but Vernon-faced monsters that wanted to 'beat the magic out of him.' The lastest dream had involved an entire army of Vernon clones. He had been surrounded by the broken bodies of small children in robes, clearly magical children, and the Vernon-army had some type of device that made it impossible for him to use his magic. He was actually powerless to stop them. They had guns and other large weapons and…

Shaking the nightmare away, Harry got out of bed and finished his toilette before going to the small dining room that he shared with Madam Belby. It was a special week, with just over three weeks before Hogwarts he would go out to pick up some of his school supplies. Of course, they would both be wearing glamours that would only come down in Gringotts. The glamours were new, a novel idea someone should have thought of years ago. He'd already been to Gringotts once, to settle his accounts and get new keys. He was wealthier than he first imagined, and the first thing Madam Belby did when she found out he wasn't a pauper was force him into Twilfit and Tattings to buy a 'proper wardrobe'. They spent the rest of that day shopping and outfitting him to 'look like a proper wizard and not a Dickens character.'

Harry actually laughed a little at that memory. Madam Belby had been horrified when he opened his school trunk, pulling out Dudley's castoffs and the misshapen things he always got when he went shopping with the Weasleys. They never had money for new robes, so Harry never felt the need to show off that he _could _afford them. Those that could be salvaged were sent to the donation bin, and those that were too horrid for words were burned.

Dressed in his day robes he started eating the breakfast that appeared before him. He knew that Madam Belby would show up soon and have some tea while he finished his breakfast. If there was any mail to be had, she would bring it to him. Sure enough, she showed up ten minutes later bearing three thick envelopes.

The first was from Gringotts. The audit of his account was finished, and aside from the odd withdrawal here and there the audit found nothing extraordinary. His father had not done anything like give Dumbledore all his money and Dumbledore hadn't been skimming off the top. The withdrawals seemed to be payouts that could be easily recovered.

Harry set that letter aside and opened the letter from Hogwarts. It was the standard letter. Quidditch was back, students in year four and above were 'greatly encouraged' to bring dress robes and formalwear for special events occurring throughout the school year, and the standard list of books. Harry saw that Divination and Care of Magical Creatures were still on his schedule, despite his dropping both of them in favour of attempting a tutoring program so that he could sit the Ancient Runes and Arithmacy OWLS. His Head of House, McGonagall, explained that he would not be able to drop either without consent from the Headmaster, and the Headmaster had not given his consent. Harry couldn't figure out why, but there was little he could do about it.

The third letter stilled his hands. It was from his _Master. _

_Servant. _

_Prepare yourself to meet with me on Thursday evening. A portkey will be delivered to you on Thursday morning. It will activate at 19:00. Be dressed and prepared to meet with me at that time. It will be a grave mistake if you are not holding that portkey when it reappears in my home._

_Master. _

Harry sighed. The letter was short and to the point, as always. There was no mystery what this meeting would be about. It was the first time he would get direct orders from his _Master, _and they likely had to do with setting up the boundaries for who he could and could not talk to while at Hogwarts. Likely some other things as well that would be painful for him.

Harry sighed. Hopefully it wouldn't be too painful.

* * *

The Dark Lord sat on his chair patiently as the clock chimed the hour. Sure enough, Potter appeared, tumbling down as if the trip had been horrendous. He stayed on his knees, eyes on the ground.

"Up. I did not command you to kneel. You have not earned the right to kneel in such a manner."

Potter scrambled up to his feet but kept his eyes down. Good.

"Was the portkey any trouble, or were you not holding it until the last minute?" The Dark Lord asked.

"I've always had problems standing upright when taking portkeys or using the floo. I always fall down."

The Dark Lord raised an eyebrow, but the move was lost on the whelp in front of him.

"You are intelligent enough to have worked out that I am your Master. Your letters have been informative, but your education is still incomplete. For the next two weeks you will cease all other academic preparation and focus solely on History, Etiquette and Protocol. I do not have faith that you comprehend the gravity of the danger muggles pose to our society, and no servant of mine will be so lacking in that fundamental truth. You also retain faith that your situation will be resolved through the intervention of Albus Dumbledore. Your remaining time this summer will be spent correcting that mistaken belief."

"Once you return to Hogwarts, you will only socialize with those I have approved. Any other individual you may speak to for purely academic reasons. You are not allowed to pair with Weasley. His family opposes me and as my servant being associated with him even as an academic partner is counterintuitive. You will not speak to Albus Dumbledore or any other teacher unless it relates to classwork and your courses. You indicated in your letter yesterday that you had been denied the opportunity to drop Divination and Creatures. That is the _only _matter that you may speak to him about. If he protests or insists that you take those classes rather than more useful academic pursuits, you will inform him that you would withdraw from his school and pursue private tuition. Understood?"

"Yes, sir." Potter responded.

"You will remain here for the last three weeks of your summer holiday. An escort will take you Diagon Alley for the books you will be studying. You will study the assigned work and be prepared to perform a demonstration of the day's lesson here in this room at the end of each day."

"Yes, sir."

"You will be assigned a private tutor who will continue your education as my servant, and you will be expected to continue your weekly reports to me until such a time that I feel your progress is adequate enough that you do not require constant monitoring. Your training will continue at Hogwarts until I feel that it is complete. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Finally, You are a Gryffindor, and your deficiencies can be blamed on that. You will petition for a re-Sort into Slytherin. You will sit with them for lunch, and pair with them for every class you take where it is possible. Your partners have already been instructed to allow this. Do I need to remind you of the consequences of disobeying my orders?"

"No, Sir."

"Good. If there are any complications and anyone attempts to force you to sit with the blood traitors you used to call friends while your petition is pending, you will take your meals in the kitchens. You will not skip meals and you will continue with any regiment that Elisabeth Belby has established for you. I cannot have half-starved, malnourished servants. Understood?"

"Yes Sir."

The Dark Lord nodded. There was still a defiant tremble in the boy's shoulders, but by now he seemed resigned to his fate. His indoctrination training had actually been going well, the potions he was being slipped helped speed him along. Mild doses of a compulsion potion mixed with a 'nightmares alive' potion brought the terror of muggles to life in Potter's mind, and that was helping reshape Potter's vision, but there was still work to be done. The Dark Lord could not risk sending Potter to Hogwarts and away from his servants if the boy still had loyalty to Dumbledore and sympathy for muggles. Both would have to be stamped out with impunity. That, and he would have to gain the boy's loyalty so that he would willingly take his Mark and truly drive the final nail in Dumbledore's coffin. Getting the boy in the right frame of mind was the first step.

"You will always address me as 'My Lord' when in my presence. It will be 'Yes, My Lord or No, My Lord. Do you understand? "

The boy trembled violently for a full minute. The Dark Lord could actually see the boy fighting the pain in an effort to ignore the order. Finally he gasped out something that sounded like 'Yes, My Lord'. The boy continued to tremble from the after effects of his pain.

"I did not quite understand you. You must learn to speak clearly." The Dark Lord was enjoying this. It was truly too bad he could not gain more followers this way. The magical toll was too great.

"Yes, My Lord." The boy said, the words coming out faster this time.

"You will soon come to realize that there are more benefits to being in my service than there are for those who refuse me. As long as you remain my servant I shall have no reason to kill you."

"What about my friends?" The boy shook harder for a moment, his punishment for speaking out of turn.

"You have no friends." The Dark Lord said simply. "Anything that was your life before you woke up under the care of Madam Belby is dead to you, and I will decide what your life will be from now on. As you learn and prove your faithfulness, you will gain freedoms, but for now your life is mine, and I am very possessive. Understood?"

"Yes, My Lord." That resigned almost-slump.

"I can guarantee that your life will be much better under my service than it was when you were my enemy. For one, we are no longer enemies so none of the lies you were told for the first fifteen years of your life matter. Secondly, you will be a part of our world, rather than continuing to live in the fringes, hated by the world. You will be free of the mantle of the 'boy-who-lived', the Prophecy matters not."

"Prophecy, My Lord?" The boy questioned. Surely Dumbledore had told this whelp of the Prophecy. Was the boy full of that much _honour_ that he fought so valiantly merely because he had been told that he must?

"Dumbledore has not told you of the Prophecy concerning us?"

"No, My Lord. I asked, and he told me that I was too young to know."

The Dark Lord crept closer to the boy, knowing that he was telling the truth. Dumbledore was truly a fool.

"There was a Prophecy that declared you as a threat to me. I do not know the whole thing, but we will handle that when it comes, Servant. I attacked you because you were a threat to my goals. I killed your parents because they stood in the way of my attack on you."

The boy still stood tall. "Permisson to speak, My Lord."

The boy was a quick study. "Granted."

"Living with the Dursleys was hell. At first I was angry with you because it was your fault that I was sent to live with them. Then you tried to kill me outright. I heard about the horrible things you did, you hurt my family and friends… "

The Dark Lord lifted the boy's head, facing him to lock his emerald eyes on him. The boy's eyes widened when he saw the beginnings of hair reapparing on his head. There would be time for that discussion later.

"Firstly, you damaged me, turned me into mere vapour. Although I murdered your parents, think of the others who were made orphans on BOTH sides. There are orphans among my followers, just as you are not the only orphan among Dumbledore's followers. I am NOT the reason you lived with the muggles. That blame lies with whoever discovered you alive afterwards. You are a Potter. I am sure you know by now how many other families you are related to?"

"Yes, My Lord."

"And you took away from that, of all the proper families related to your father, none of them were appropriate, but that your mother's muggle family was? That as close as your father was to the Longbottom family, that not even _she _was worthy of raising you properly?"

The boy stilled. Perfect. He was thinking about it. "No My Lord, I did not take my father's relations into account."

"When you do, when you examine all of the facts leading up to this moment, you will reach a conclusion. I am not to blame for you living with the muggles. And I did not force the muggles to treat you as they did. That is simply their nature. They are violent, brutish and will kill anything that is more powerful than they are. They force us to hide, to deny who and what we are. They call us abominations, when it is they that are unnatural. After all, Gaia is Magic, the earth, sky, winds and waters are full of magic, so how is it that a being that comes from this earth is without the magic that flows through the earth?"

"I don't know, My Lord."

The Dark Lord chuckled. "There is no answer to that question, Servant. It is merely food for thought. "

The Dark Lord tapped another portkey. "Go, pack your bags and your trunk. Be ready at 10 in the morning to pick the portkey back up. It will take you directly to your chambers here. Be dressed for an important meeting. You will be meeting with a few of your carefully selected peers for lunch. You will become acquainted with them. Understood?"

"Yes, My Lord."

"Dismissed."


	3. Of Former Friends

Thanks for all of the reviews!

EDITED: Helpful reviewer pointed out a couple of mistakes. Fixed up!

* * *

Harry stepped through the barrier and moved to the right, shortly followed by Draco Malfoy. Behind them trailed Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. Outwardly, Harry was cool and collected as he pushed his trolley along, but inside he was a giant bundle of nerves.

The last part of the break had been interesting, to say the least. He would not call it difficult. The first week was difficult. He had reported to the Dark Lord twice daily. It forced full submission to the Dark Lord's authority upon Harry's mind. Despite attempting otherwise, Harry soon found that being forced to think of him as Lord before speaking forced his mind to convert his other names to Dark Lord. Now calling him the Dark Lord in his mind was automatic, and he had to pause and force his mind to his publicly accepted name, not to say anything about the V word.

The summer had ended surprisingly well, all things considered. It was a bit uncomfortable spending time in the same building as the man whose previous goal was your painful death, at least at first. Harry had distractions, and that helped. He learned how to properly play chess, got to go to the beach multiple times, practice spells and learn more about dueling. The first time he cast a spell outside of Hogwarts without fear of retribution was a liberating thing. Harry did not miss the look of satisfaction on the Dark Lord's face the first time he successfully cast a dark spell, even if it had been a direct order. Casting that single spell changed a lot of things for Harry. The world had not ended. In fact, he felt more alive, more connected to the flow of magic within his body, like a dam had been holding him back from his full potential, and that single spell broke it. By the end of the summer, there were only a handful of spells Harry felt were 'off limits', and the Dark Lord's only reaction to that was to smirk knowingly and agree not to punish him.

After a while, Harry acclimated to being around the Dark Lord, knew what to say when, and how to act around his elders. He had not been introduced to any Death Eaters save Jugson, Avery and the Malfoys, presumably for his own protection. Each person he met continued an aspect of his tutoring. Narcissa was a highly competent brewer so she continued his Potions studies, Lucius taught History and Politics, and Jugson and Avery taught Dueling and introduced him to a number of curses and other Dark spells. He would continue his lessons via letters with Lucius, and already had a stack of books he had to read and write reports on. Narcissa also taught basic etiquette and pureblood culture. There were rules fore every interaction, depending on who you were talking to or about, things he never noticed before. Narcissa was a good and patient teacher, so he learned quite a lot in the short amount of time he spent under her tutelage.

Being around the Dark Lord had been awkward at first, but being around the Malfoys had been pure torture for the first two or three days, until they mutually realized that for the most part the rumors were not true. Sure, Lucius had done something very dangerous, but it had not been his intent to kill Ginny Weasley, only publicly embarrass the family by having her caught at Hogwarts with a dark object. Lucius had been just as surprised as anyone when not only had the diary not been found and confiscated after the first attack, but that attacks had continued to happen and the girl herself had been put in danger before anything was done. Not only that, but the thing that was done had been done by a pair of second year students and a fraud. He was equally appalled when, despite requests to do so by the Board of Governors, the Headmaster had not reached out to the Ministry, St Mungos or other outside sources to procure mature mandrakes in order to revive the afflicted students earlier in the school year. The Board of Governors could only recommend the action, it was up to the Headmaster and the Head of the Infirmary to actually write the letter, something Madam Pomfrey had been willing to do, but Dumbledore for some reason insisted that the mandrakes grown by the school would suffice, even when he was told that it was unlikely anyone would charge for such a small supply of mandrakes. It gave the impression that Dumbledore was trying until the end to cover up what was happening at Hogwarts. Stranger still, it was not like mandrake root was a restricted ingredient. Any apothecary could have supplied the school with enough to brew the restorative draughts needed.

Something else Harry learned was that the Board had talked to each petrified student willing to meet with them, and they received private tutors free of charge to make up for the lost months of study brought on by the incompetence of the Headmaster. Only Hermione Granger had refused to meet with them, and while the Board could not force any student to do anything, they wondered why she would refuse.

When Harry relayed to the Malfoys that she had been given a time-turner by Professor McGonagall her third year Lucius surmised what may have happened. Being a muggleborn Gryffindor, she went to her Head of House when the letter came, and since the summons was optional, the decision was made not to answer it. Lucius also held the opinion that the Headmaster was involved with the decision, and that his choice was predicated on preventing the girl from having a positive view of the members of the Board of Governors. It all sounded very conspiracy theory-ish until he realized that Hermione could very easily have gotten the time-turner early in the summer in order to catch up with the work she missed so that she would still be 'ahead' of everyone else. That thought led to a second, darker, thought which was that Hermione could have gotten the time-turner for the express purpose of being the top student in the year. After all, there was no telling what type of extra classes she could have been taking whenever she wasn't around him or Ron. She already proved that she could take two classes at the same time, who was to say that she wasn't getting private tutoring from McGonagall or anyone else as well? Harry didn't voice those thoughts, but they weighed heavily on his mind.

Mentioning Hermione's time turner, however, had given Lucius a bright idea. Apparently there was a whole storage room of them in the Ministry, and being a rather influential member of the Wizengamot gave Lucius some perks. So what started off as barely three weeks left in the summer turned into nearly three months more that he spent floating between the Dark Lord's home and Malfoy Manor. Each day happened four times, although each time the day happened he had to report to the Dark Lord, but at a set interval to avoid seeing another copy of himself. The first day was studying with Jugson and Avery. The second day was spent at Malfoy Manor studying with Lucius and Narcissa, the third was with non-Death Eater tutors for Arithmancy and Ancient Runes and the fourth was taking day trips with the Malfoys. Lucius and Narcissa took potions to combat the negative aging effects of the trips using the turner, but Harry used the extra time to build up his strength and catch up to his year-group as far as growth was concerned. Most of the scars he had from being with the Dursleys were completely gone, and his health was the best it had ever been. Harry had not realized how unhealthy he had been until he found out what it felt like to wake up without odd twinges in his muscles about midway through the doubled summer.

During that time he learned a lot. Draco was allowed to make some of the trips back with him in order to have a dueling partner or someone to work out Lucius' lessons with. They got to know each other and much of the animosity that filled the first four years of their time together was gone. Draco apologized for most of his bad behavior, and Harry realized that sometimes he took an aggressive approach when none was warranted. Harry also learned that some of the things he did and said were highly offensive to wizard-raised children, and most of his year would be spent apologizing to the people he offended. They weren't best friends, but Draco was in the unique position to know what had been going on at the end of the summer, and with the clean slate they established between them a friendship of sorts was not out of the question.

Narcissa, on the other hand, was intent on spoiling Harry within an inch of his life, to make up for the mother who should have spent the years spoiling him. She was like Molly Weasley in that regard, although Harry knew the blonde woman would have been offended to be compared to the gingery matron. On his vacation days, Narcissa took him and Draco around to her favorite haunts in Italy and France, buying things for Harry everywhere they went. His first view of the sea was in southern France, his first custom-made shoes were made in Milan, and the whole while he stopped feeling uncomfortable and actually enjoyed the mothering. At the end of the last week the group of them, he and the Malfoys, went back to Diagon Alley and upgraded a lot of his school wardrobe, as well as getting his prescription changed again, a wand holster and a lockable box for his broom.

His orders from the Dark Lord meant that Harry got a second trunk with much better security features for his belongings, as well as a small collection of books for him to study. Harry got the feeling that the books weren't from Diagon Alley but he didn't question it when the sack containing the books was handed to him after Lucius' 'disappearance' halfway through the trunk purchase. Harry learned early on not to question any of his instructors, so the books went with the others and he knew that the day would come when he would be buying books on his own from Knockturn Alley. Although they had grown closer, and he honestly saw Lucius and Narcissa as mentors he still remembered the painful lessons his reluctance had wrought on his body. Jugson and Avery were different. They were still instructors, but deep down something had shifted and Harry knew that the Malfoys meant him no harm, and that Narcissa at least genuinely cared for his well-being. Draco, as well. The thought did not bother him as much as it would have without the extra weeks spent training under the Dark Lord.

Another positive that came out of the summer was the reversal of a smear campaign against him that he had not even been aware of. Apparently, behind the scenes, his healers were spinning a tale to the Ministry about how what he had said back in May at the end of the tournament had been fabrications implanted into his brain, without any assistance for processing what happened and dealing with the tragedy. Harry learned about memory modification spells, mainly used on muggles who witnessed something they should not have, but which also could be used on wizards. While most of the damage had been reversed, he still had to give an interview in order to satisfy the lingering critics. When the time came, he gave his rehearsed revision of the events, assisted by the mind healer who 'helped' reconstruct the events as they happened rather than what had been planted in his mind. They had done such a good job practicing for the interview that Harry sometimes confused the fake facts with what really occurred. Details were not made available, but the Prophet did end up getting the right to publish an edited version of his interview with the Ministry. The fact that he was the victim of a crime made him a much more sympathetic figure than being a liar. Not that it mattered, he did not spend much time out and about, and usually he was with a Malfoy of some fashion or wearing a glamour if he did go out.

All of the extra time he spent studying and reporting to the Dark Lord meant that he had started to feel connected to the things he was studying. The voice that called it propaganda vanished and he started to see the truth for what it was. There was no point in muggle history where muggles did not try to subjugate the people they wished to exploit. The Dark Lord simply wished to stop the constant flow of information about the magical world out to the muggles. In their private meetings, the Dark Lord told him of the importance of power, and that it didn't always follow that those who were purebloods were the most magically powerful. However, they were the least likely to spread information about magical society to muggles. So the Dark Lord chose purebloods to further his cause of fully separating from the muggles, but he also used half-bloods as well. The Dark Lord impressed upon him that simply because his most ardent supporters were blood purist that did not mean that other witches and wizards did not support him, or at least espouse the same ideals he did. He wasn't trying to preserve the status quo; the status quo was broken and the Dark Lord wished to usher in a new era where the traditions of old were celebrated and not shunned. A renaissance of wizard culture, so to speak.

So the Dark Lord was not a murderer for the sake of being a murderer, but had actual articulable goals; he wanted to reform society to better protect it against the muggle threat. That was a noble goal. What made him Dark was that he was not afraid of using any weapon in his arsenal to do so. No spell was off limits, no technique too profane to prevent its use.

Harry also learned more about magical children that had been treated like him, or worse. He learned of how many magical children ended up dying before they even attended Hogwarts because of muggles. He learned of how pro-muggle wizards had done things that had maimed or killed other wizards in the name of promoting muggle ideas and 'things' among wizards. Not that all muggle ideas were bad, but it was the insistence that every muggle thing was inherently better than the way a wizard could do it which irritated the Dark Lord. It was this insistence, combined with the insistence that muggles were essentially harmless that led the Dark Lord to be so passionate. Harry guessed that what he was saying wasn't the full story, but the brand around his ankle was a constant reminder that he was not in the position to ask questions. Scarier still, he increasingly found that what the Dark Lord said made sense and there was little reason to question the man who clearly knew what he was talking about.

Harry knew that the Dark Lord had been raised by muggles from what he discovered about the diary belonging to the Dark Lord as a youth. Again, it didn't mean much to Harry's situation, and from the tone of those discussions he knew that Dumbledore was somehow involved in the Dark Lord's contact with muggles. It didn't take a genius to realize that the Dark Lord had been treated poorly by his muggle guardians, much like he himself had been mistreated. The Dark Lord made many references to how Dumbledore seemed to think muggles capable of treating wizards better than they were, so it stood to reason that Dumbledore was very much responsible for sending the Dark Lord back to the orphanage every summer despite how he was treated. The Dark Lord even suggested that if the Ministry had not been involved with 'checking up' on him at the beginning of the summer, nothing would have been done because it was part of Dumbledore's plan to have Harry remain with the muggles until his majority, no matter how they treated him. It gave Harry a lot to think about, especially as Harry considered the truth behind what the Dark Lord was suggesting and found it a little too real for comfort.

Muggle relations, or the lack therof, was not the only topic of discussion when he met with the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord himself trained Harry on rare occasions, mostly Dark Arts, which Harry learned was an umbrella term encompassing a number of disciplines and spells labeled by the Ministry as Dark. There were certain branches he had no need to study, like Necromancy, but he got a good basic understanding of the darker rituals, curses and other little tidbits the Dark Lord saw fit to teach him. The Dark Lord also, strangely enough, helped rid him of the nightmares of Cedric dying. It had been a rather blunt lesson, but coming to grips with the fact that yes, people do die and no, it is not Harry's responsibility to prevent death had helped him immensely. The Dark Lord hinted at the most lasting revolutions were borne from blood, and that those with the most to lose often fought the hardest against change to the status quo; 'They would make villains out of heroes, if they could'. Harry could see the truth to that statement.

So yes, the summer had been far different than what Harry saw as he walked into his room at Privet Drive when the summer began. Now the summer was over, and Harry stood next to Draco, ignoring the stares from those people around him. He knew walking onto the platform with the Malfoys would cause a scene. It still bothered him, a bit, to be noticed, but one of the lessons that had been drilled into his head was the difference between positive and negative recognition. For most of his fifteen years, anytime he was noticed, it was negative. For most of that time if he was noticed it was by abusive muggles or because of the same circumstances that made him an orphan. The time spent studying under Lucius taught him that not all attention was bad, that standing out was sometimes a good thing. It kept people from taking advantage of you. Hiding in the shadows only meant that fewer people knew the 'real' him, and that allowed rumours to spread, allowed people to fill in the blanks with their own ideas about him. There was a time to lurk in the shadows, sure, to observe people and learn what they think when they assume you are not around. But to hide and avoid attention, to be overly submissive invited people to see what they could get away with, and allowing others to dictate your personality and public perception was dangerous, especially when left in the hands of people who seek only to subjugate you further under their control and influence. Harry was tempted by that do draw conclusions to his current situation, but knew that it was different. He was stronger, more independent, and healthier than he had ever remembered being. He was a blood servant, bound to the Dark Lord, but he had been allowed to study branches of magic he never knew existed. Aside from the occasional direct order, he was invited to be his own person, be fully informed about the world around him and draw his own conclusions. Harry concluded that he wanted to be strong, he wanted people to think twice before starting rumors about him, and he wanted it known that he had changed over the summer, and that he was his own person. He would no longer duck and hide under his fringe simply because a few people were looking in his direction.

So Harry ignored the stares, put off an aura of not caring about what those around him thought about his association with the Malfoys. He was famous and there was nothing he could do about it. Harry learned how to be comfortable with the attention without seeming like he was just begging for people to pay more attention to him. Lucius also taught him a little about his family history. Potters were natural leaders. Someone had tried to stomp those leadership qualities out of him, but leadership was in his blood, so quite a few people looked at him because in him they saw a future leader. That particular lesson was harder to grasp, since Harry never thought of himself as a worthy leader, but all that came down to the same problem of Harry learning from a young age that being noticed was bad.

He looked at Lucius, who noticed his posture and nodded with approval. One of the lessons that had been drilled into him was a straight posture, not to let his internal thought project into his outward appearance. So even if he was nervous, he could not let his body language show his nerves. Narcissa smiled at both of them and shocked everyone on the platform by giving Draco a hug, followed by giving Harry one as well.

"You boys be safe, and don't forget what I said, Harry." Narcissa whispered.

"I won't ma'am." Harry replied.

Lucius put a hand Harry's shoulder and Harry turned his attention to the elder male Malfoy.

"Don't forget to keep up with your lessons. I'll have a letter to you by the end of next week detailing what you should study next. You'll need time to get settled in at Hogwarts, get the ball moving on your transfer. If you continue to have any problems getting your extra classes dropped in favour of the study sessions, write me. Delores should be of some assistance, but still. Sometimes a Puff should not be sent in to do a Slytherin job."

Harry nodded. "Yes sir."

"Draco, remember what we discussed."

"Yes, Father."

Narcissa smiled again. "Off you both go!"

Harry and Draco pushed their trunks up to one of the porters, who floated them up the stairs. The whole process was much less awkward without Hedwig's cage. Harry had been surprised to see the porters stationed at some of the doors, but learned that they left fifteen minutes before the train was due to depart, since most people had arrived by then. The three years he managed to catch the train he had been later than that, so the porters were gone. Also, the Board of Governors finally got the porters' uniforms changed back to the highly noticeable bright yellow, as opposed to the black that tended to blend in with the mass of students and parents milling around the platform. It was very likely that Harry had whizzed right past them, not having taken a train before in his life so not even being aware of their purpose. Also, the porters relied on tips, so the Weasleys were unlikely to use them anyway.

Soon Harry and Draco were settled into a compartment towards the back of the train. After a few minutes of talk about the upcoming school year they were joined by some of Draco's friends. Blaise Zabini, Pansy Parkinson and Theo Nott appeared quickly, followed by a few other Slytherins from Draco's year and a couple from the year below him. They all stared at Harry for a moment before introducing themselves to the green-eyed boy-who-lived. They were further shocked when he properly introduced himself to them.

It was painfully awkward at first, especially when Draco left for his Prefects meeting, but then the questions started and Harry answered every one that he could. By the time Draco returned an hour later quite a few misconceptions from both camps were gone. Harry made every effort to apologize for his past negativity towards all things Slytherin, and they all mutually agreed to start fresh, especially when they found out how woefully ignorant he had been about how his behaviour offended others. Harry knew that soon these would be his new housemates, so he could not antagonize them. He avoided mentioning the Dark Lord, but did mention his study with Jugson and Avery, as well as spending most of the summer with the Malfoys. That eased a lot of tensions, since Avery was widely known around Dark families as a Dark Arts expert. Dolochov was another such expert, but the other experts were in Azkaban, namely the Lestrange brothers and Bellatrix.

By the end of the train ride Harry was no longer dreading switching over to Slytherin because of the Slytherins, but merely because of what the other Gryffindors would say.

* * *

Harry sat down at the end of the Gryffindor table, trying to appear uninterested as his soon-to-be former housemates stared at him. Harry supposed he did look different to them, he was actually healthy, had grown a couple of inches with the constant nutrition potions he had been taking, and had let his hair grow so that it brushed his shoulders. Ignoring the whispers, he leaned back and observed the hall around him. Being back at Hogwarts after the summer he had felt strange. For him it had been nearly six months since he last sat in the Great Hall. Seeing the familiar sights and feeling differently about the people around him cemented that he had become a different person. His priorities were different. He wasn't the ignorant child who believed in the black and white world where Slytherins were inherently evil and Gryffindors could do no wrong. Things were much more complicated than that. There was no way he could go back to being the same person he had been.

Ron and Hermione were looking at him with hurt expressions. There was an obvious hole near them, probably meant for him to join them. He had managed to avoid them the entire train ride by sitting with the Slytherins in the Slytherin car. He hoped to continue the trend. Unfortunately, it would be a week at least before his petition could be sorted out, longer if the Headmaster decided to play hardball, so there was still the risk he would be forced to spend time with them even after he dissuaded them of the idea that they could still be friends. And that was the truth. He could not be friends with them. Even without his direct orders regarding Ron, which undoubtedly included Hermione, they were too different. He no longer saw anything wrong with the Dark Arts. He actually enjoyed those lessons. They would never understand, even if he could remain friends with them. That conversation needed to happen, but not tonight.

A few other people in the hall seemed to notice that he was not sitting with Ron and Hermione, and the whispers spread across tables. Nobody knew about his orders from the Dark Lord. Heck, of the people in the room, only Draco knew he had changed allegiances. Nobody knew the reason behind the change. And he would not add fuel to the fire. Everybody had seen him with Draco on the platform, but knowledge of what had happened with the Dursleys had not been made public. However, the mere fact that he was friendly with the Malfoys would cause enough speculation. The most anybody knew was that the wizards who kidnapped him during the third task had planted false memories in his mind, and that the Ministry had helped him discover the tampering when they came to interview him about his claims.

Harry sighed as the sorting began. At least he would not have to explain himself tonight surrounded by the people he had been ordered to avoid. He was not staying in the dorm. The trunk that had been sent to Gryffindor was empty, his real trunk and all of his belongings still in his pocket after a helpful shrinking spell. He would go to the Room of Hidden Things, which the Dark Lord told him would transform into anything he needed, including a dorm. He would take his next meals at the Slytherin table or in the kitchens, and he could easily avoid having to talk to them in class. Ron was far from subtle, so ignoring him would get him frustrated, and a frustrated Ron forgot how to whisper. That would get Ron in trouble for talking. As long as he made the initial process quick he could keep Ron's outbursts down to a minimum. Harry knew there would be a fallout, but he hoped Ron would tire and soon get too stubborn to talk to Harry, which suited his needs just fine.

Figuring out how to get rid of his friends had been a hard task, but he knew them well enough to be able to accomplish the first truly difficult task the Dark Lord had assigned him. He could hold their lack of communication against them, especially since Hermione would easily know ways to sneak messages to him using muggle technology. Considering that he had been in Surrey for the earliest part of the summer, Hermione was smart enough that she could have figured out where he was and how to send him a message if she had wanted to. It was unfair, but if it came down to it he needed reasons for not speaking to them. Harry didn't think he had it in him to be rude. He had other weapons in his arsenal, and he hoped he could use those to his advantage as well.

The Sorting was over quickly, and Harry soon found himself surrounded by blushing firsties. They were polite and just as scared as he remembered being. There was no reason not to be polite right back. Soon they were chattering around him and he finished his dinner in silence.

Harry was still focusing on his pudding when he heard the Hall quiet down.

Dumbledore was talking, and it was a lot tamer than years prior. No talk of forbidden corridors, cancelled Quidditch seasons or dangers from dementors and escaped persons from Azkaban. Just as he was introducing Delores Umbridge to the uninformed, the new Defense professor interrupted him. Standing, the woman in bubble-pink robes smiled at the student body like a mother would smile at a rather imbecilic child caught doing something they should not be doing. Harry knew little about her, only that she was a sympathizer who would support a snail over anything to do with Dumbledore, according to the information Lucius had given him and Draco over dinner the night before. The company line was that she had been put in place to 'investigate the educational standards at Hogwarts', but Lucius told them that her main goal was to get Dumbledore sacked. Even though she wasn't a loyal follower, her goals were the same as the Dark Lord's, and it was their job to help her achieve that end. Harry suspected that she would have been gunning for him as well, if not for the events this summer that led to the whole 'Ministry investigation.' Harry wasn't too sure why Dumbledore losing his post as Headmaster was so important, except maybe that the Dark Lord had plans for educational reform that went against what Dumbledore was currently doing. Both the Dark Lord and Lucius expressed disdain for Binns and after learning more history in a summer than he had ever learned with Binns he was inclined to agree that the man should have been sacked long ago.

"Hem-Hem... Thank you, Headmaster, for those kind words of welcome." She began.

"The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of a vital importance. The Ministry always endeavours to ensure that the quality of education provided to our youth is unequalled in excellence and prepares students for what is expected of them upon completion of the various educational milestones without sacrifice. Although each headmaster has brought something new to this... historic school, progress for the sake of progress must be discouraged. When we sacrifice in the name of progress we lose a vital part of who we should be. Let us preserve what must be preserved, perfect what can be perfected and prune what ought to be... pruned!"*

There was polite applause across most of the Hall, although most of the people that knew why she was really there cheered a bit more enthusiastically.

It was clear that most of the faculty found her presence bothersome. Still, Harry was waiting for the word that they were dismissed, so he could leave.

He could see Ron and Hermione both chomping at the bit to get down the table to talk to him, and Dumbledore's eyes lingered over him for a long time, as well. But with Umbridge standing next to him and the Ministry order preventing contact, he merely dismissed the feast, and Harry was the first one out the door and up the stairs.

Bypassing the dorms completely, Harry made good time getting up to the seventh floor. Finding the tapestry the Dark Lord indicated was easy enough; trolls learning to dance were highly noticeable. Harry paced three times, focusing on a comfortable place to make a temporary home. On his third pass the door appeared and Harry walked inside.

The room was a comfortable size. Instead of Gryffindor red, the room was done in blues and greens, the colors he had gotten used to over the summer. The large double bed sat in one corner, a large wardrobe next to it. ON the other side there was a small sitting area and a writing desk with a bookshelf next to it. A second door concealed a bathroom. Harry knew this was only temporary, and that he would pack up his trunk every day to prevent his things from being taken away and spirited back to Gryffindor, but for now he was simply exhausted and eager to test his new room.

* * *

After spending weekend settling in, Harry's first class Monday morning was Charms, with Ravenclaw. In classes without Slytherins, he was free to sit with whomever he wished, as long as they were not in the prohibited group of 'blood traitors and Dumbledore supporters.'

Thankfully, Padma didn't say anything when he asked to sit next to her in the class. None of the other Ravenclaws so much as looked in his direction strangely when he did. Neville gave him a strange look, but didn't comment. Ron and Hermione were barely on time because they had been escorting a lost first-year to Transfiguration, so they could not say anything to him as the Professor began class.

The lesson went well; it was a review of the material learned the year before. Harry had not learned a lot during the course of the year, but had been able to review everything over the summer and so he was actually a bit more proficient. It was obvious who reviewed over the summer and who had not. Most of the Ravenclaws were in good shape, not needing to refer to their books or notes as the Professor named charms for them to practice. Hermione had all the wand movements down, but it was obvious she had not practised with 'live magic' over most of the summer, and a few of the other Gryffindors needed to look over their notes for some of the more advanced charms they had learned the previous year. Neville had the wand movements down, but some of the spells were a little weaker than they should have been. Ron and Seamus struggled the most, and it was obvious that neither of them had even bothered to look at schoolwork over the break.

It wasn't Harry's problem. Not anymore. He had enough to deal with without having other people's academic struggles on his mind, as well. Before, he would have probably been in the same boat as Ron, relying on Hermione's coaching to get through the assignment. He could see that Ron and Hermione were practically vibrating with the need to talk to him, although Hermione covered it up better by focusing on the task at hand. Harry avoided looking in their direction for the rest of class, quickly thanking Padma for letting him sit with her before he dashed out the door again.

Fortunately for him the next fifth year class scheduled was Arithmancy, so he didn't have to deal with Hermione for a while, at least. Harry walked quickly to try and avoid the confrontation with Ron he knew was coming, especially since he had not spoken to the boy at all since getting back to Hogwarts, even though there had been a whole weekend in between the arrival and the first day of classes.

"Hey! Hey Harry!" Ron called after him. Harry ignored him in favour of walking down towards the courtyard.

"Hey mate! Harry!" Harry could hear Ron catching up with him, but he would not give the ginger the satisfaction of him 'fleeing'. Mentally, Harry took a deep breath, and put his best 'Malfoy Impression' face on before turning around. After so much time around the family, the haughty look of being 'better than' everyone else was easy enough to fake. The shock on Ron's face told Harry that he had succeeded.

"I don't know why you're trying to speak to me now, Weasley. I went all summer without so much as a peep from you, even with everything else that was going on. And frankly, I'm better for it." Harry turned around and continued on his journey. The lake sounded like a good idea, all of a sudden.

"Harry! I'm sorry mate, it's just that…"

"What? You couldn't bother to check in on the friend you KNEW had a hard time with his relatives? The one, who, by the by, had just been kidnapped and tortured by sickos after being forced to spend his entire fourth year competing in a tournament he wanted no part of? Oh wait, you thought I put my name in the cup so maybe you thought I WANTED to have Unforgivables tossed at me. Leave me be." Harry whirled back around and kept his march out to the lake. Divination was up soon, but he wasn't going to that, so he could stay out here until Transfiguration. He could hear Ron continuing to follow him. Part of Harry wanted to turn around and forgive his friend, but a twinge around his ankle killed that thought. He had to cut things off with Ron. He couldn't survive the pain if he didn't.

"It's not like that at all! Harry, please!"

"Don't waste your time, Weasley." Harry drudged up every ill feeling he could against Ron; every time he felt annoyed with the ginger, every negative thing he could think of and pushed it into his face. Ron recoiled as if he'd been punched when Harry glared at him again. "One wonders what kind of friend you really are. A real friend would have checked in on his injured mate. A real friend would have told more than just his mum _why _his friend had to be bodily rescued from his own home. A real friend would NOT have listened to outside influences about whether or not to contact the one person who didn't have anyone else he could trust, especially since that friend KNEW the person in question didn't have access to an owl. It's too little, too late now. I survived this summer _without _you and your _family. _And I'm better for it, because now I've met people who are more interested in helping me _recover _and teaching me what I'll actually find useful rather than playing games all summer."

Ron looked as though he'd been stabbed. Harry was satisfied that he'd done a good job making his best friend hate him. But after the words came out, Harry realized he actually believed them. Ron SHOULD have done a better job trying to get in touch with him. Ron SHOULD have mentioned to someone other than his mum about the bars and the cat flap. The way everyone else reacted this summer when they saw them maybe somebody could have done something sooner. It wasn't the type of thing to toss out a friendship over, but he had his orders, and to disobey would be painful. So Harry fixed his best look of superiority on his face, tilted his head up even though Ron was still taller than him, and _drawled. _

"Draco was right. There are some wizards that are better than others. You thought you could keep me down by being the _better _friend, the one who knew everything about this world. I smell your game, Weasley. You keep me ignorant about the stuff you know, and it keeps you _useful; _makes it harder for me to realize that I'm better than you. Now I've had a summer of proper education. Mo more misinformation, no muggles, just an enjoyable summer. No thanks to you. So do me a favour, and stay away. You'll only drag me down."

Harry turned one last time and walked off to the lake. Ron did not follow.

* * *

Transfiguration was awkward, at least for some people. Word spread quickly that Harry and Ron were on the 'outs'. They were with the Slytherins, and Harry sat between Draco and Blaise. So he coolly ignored the Gryffindor side of the classroom in favor of paying attention to McGonagall. She stressed the importance of the upcoming OWLs and everybody was taking notes. Just like Charms earlier, they went over material they covered at the end of the previous year, as well as some easier, older transfiguration that would form the base for more advanced work. Distraction free, Harry easily completed his set of items, practicing making the changes more elaborate each time. By the time the Professor called time, his brown vole was calico and the cup he changed into was silver with red and green gems. When asked, he could easily restore the vole to his original coloring while still making the silver cup with gems.

Harry was well aware that everyone else in the room kept looking between him and Ron, as if they were expecting an explosion. Well, everyone except Draco, who looked for the world like the cat that got the canary and a free fish buffet afterward. He just couldn't let himself care. This was his new reality.

Truth be told, Draco was only kind of a prat when the nastiness wasn't directed at him. They got along pretty well now, even if there were times when he wanted to throttle the boy, but judging from the looks Blaise was giving him, that was something even his close friends wanted to do on occasion.

When McGonagall was over on the other side of the room, helping Parvarti with something, Draco leaned over and whispered.

"Weasley looks like he's ready to explode." Draco then chuckled, keeping his head close to Harry's. Harry knew that the blonde was just trying to get a rise out of Ron. Looking at Ron's increasingly red face, it was working.

"Yeah, doesn't like the fact I told him you were a better wizard than he was." Harry whispered back.

Draco's face lit up like a fireworks display. "You did?"

"I did."

"Wonder how long it will take for his face to turn as red as his hair?"

Harry suppressed a laugh. "Knowing him? Not long if we keep whispering like this."

Turning to look at Draco properly, he saw the nasty gleam in the blonde's eyes that said he was quite willing to try this little experiment. Harry didn't care. As long as he achieved his assignment of cutting the Weasleys out of his life he'd take all the help he got. Even if it was a vindictive Draco getting revenge on the boy who 'stole' Harry away from everyone else. Even though Ron had been a good friend sometimes, there were other times when he really _had _been bloody awful. It helped Harry to focus on those times. Harry hoped that focusing on Ron's negatives and turning him into a caricature helped ease the pain of having to ditch the ginger. So from now on in Harry's mind Ron was a jealous prat who stifled Harry's growth for selfish reasons.

Harry continued to talk with Draco, watching for a reaction out of Ron but being woefully disappointed when Hermione seemed to be attempting to diffuse the volatile boy. Transfiguration soon ended, and Ron was content to simply glare at Harry before stomping off, probably to tea, since they did not have another scheduled class for an hour. Hermione, however, followed him out of the classroom and tried to get his attention.

"Harry?" She called. "Harry! Wait up!"

Harry kept going. He was not going to have this conversation in the middle of a hallway, and he CERTAINLY wasn't going back into Gryffindor to talk to her. They could find a classroom that wasn't being used, but first he needed her to feel as awkward as possible.

"Harry!" She kept calling, although now it was more like a frantic stage whisper since people around them had started to notice. Finally, once they were in a less congested part of the hallway and closer to where there would be empty classrooms this time of day, he turned.

"Can I help you?" He went with polite indifference, as though she was not one of his closest friends, but merely a classmate. That seemed to throw her off, likely because of whatever Ron told her. She opened her mouth for a brief second, then closed it, clearly swallowing whatever it was she was going to say.

"Can we talk?"

"I'm not sure what we have to talk about, Granger." Harry responded.

Hermione sighed. "Can we just talk?"

"Make it quick. I have better places to be." He replied, leading her into a nearby classroom. He closed the door behind her and put up four wards to keep their presence in the classroom a secret and the conversation private. They were Lucius' specialties for when he was having 'discussions' with the Minister.

As soon as Harry turned back to her he saw that she had a puzzled look on her face, as though she was trying to figure out the spells he just used.

"Are you going to talk or are you going to just stare at me?" He asked.

Hermione shook her head for a moment and looked at him again. "I'm worried about you, Harry."

"Are you really?" Harry leaned against a nearby desk. He had to be careful. Hermione was much smarter than Ron. He had to push her buttons without her realizing what he was doing. Not an easy task. There was also the fact that while his ankle had tingled and started burning furiously while he was talking to Ron, so far there wasn't as much as an odd tickle with Hermione. That bore looking into, but it was likely a moot point because he belonged to the Dark Lord now, and she'd never support that. For now, he had to push her away for his safety and hers. "You didn't seem very worried about me."

Hermione frowned. "I was! I didn't hear from you all summer, then you don't sit with us on the train, and you couldn't be found anywhere, and then Ron tells me that you told him Malfoy was a better person than he was."

Ah, easy set-up. "Firstly, you KNOW that Dumbledore took Hedwig for 'my own protection', because apparently being able to contact another wizard in an emergency is too much of a safety risk. I told you guys as much on the ride home. Secondly, you never gave me a muggle way of communicating with you, while you've known my address since second year. Even if you didn't, Ron did. And I'm sure you spent most of the summer at the Burrow like always, while I was stuck secluded and alone with muggles that hate me. You were probably having the time of your life. You could have come up with a way to contact me without sending an owl. I would think my best friends would want to check on me after being kidnapped, tortured, and forced to witness the murder of a fellow classmate."

Hermione looked sad, nodding. "Not to mention what ELSE happened this past spring…."

Harry interrupted her. "There was just the kidnapping."

Hermione paused. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing else happened. I was kidnapped, tortured a bit by rogues who fashioned themselves as Death Eaters, meant to cause a panic like at the World Cup, but those memories weren't real. Cedric was killed, yes, but there was no dark ritual, although I was made to believe that one occurred. He's not back."

Hermione, as much as she read the Prophet, probably knew that he rescinded the story.

"So I read. Why did you say that? Professor Dumbledore said…"

Harry snorted. "Dumbledore is the reason I got kidnapped to begin with. Had he let me withdraw from the tournament I would not have been in position to get kidnapped by portkey. I would not have been in a maze all by myself, but surrounded by spectators, reporters and teachers."

"But he didn't put your name in the Cup! I know you didn't do it but Professor Dumbledore wouldn't have done it either! The contract was binding! There was nothing he could do!" Hermione protested.

"There was plenty he could have done. I'm underage. Everyone else involved in the tournament was of age, and so able to sign their own consent by entering the tournament. I could not, even if I wanted to. He could have had safeguards put in place so that if the contestants were in danger they could be protected. There is no reason at all that the trophy should have been a portkey. Plus, the fact that four names came out of the cup when there were only meant to be three constitutes fraud at some level. Reason enough to invalidate the results and have a second drawing." Harry replied.

Hermione sighed. "Ok, Harry. But still, you haven't been up to the dorm and we couldn't find you on the train! Nobody knows where you were this summer and…"

"Stop. The Ministry had me in a safe place, safer than with the muggles. I spent the summer studying, catching up with my lessons that I'd missed for the past four years dealing with _nonsense. _SO just because YOU don't know where I was this summer that does not mean that I was in any danger. I was in more danger at the Dursley's than I was once I had been rescued. Properly rescued, not what happened before second year."

Hermione looked horribly conflicted. He knew that part of her wanted to argue that the Dursleys must not have been that bad, if nobody had stepped in before now, but their own recent history with injustice in the form of Sirius' lack of a trial spoke volumes, and Hermione knew that Harry's relatives just as easily could have slipped through the cracks of justice. Harry could see the war on her face. Finally she simply sighed.

"I'm just concerned. You're different. It's like you don't want to be friends with Ron and I anymore."

"I don't." Harry replied.

"Why? We've been nothing but supportive of you! Who helped you through the tasks last year? Or with Si… Snuffles?" Hermione looked genuinely hurt.

"We have OWLs this year, Hermione. I can't afford to be distracted. Neither can you. It's the best thing for both of us. And although you have, admittedly, been a good friend, Ron has not. And I still can't ignore that none of you seem rather bothered that I was locked away for what presumably would have been the whole summer while the Prophet attempted to destroy my reputation. Without help I would have never have been able to undo the damage."

"I know we have OWLs this year. But we can work together and come up with a study plan and…"

"Save it." Harry snapped. This was much harder with Hermione, simply because they had been good friends. There was no reason for him to cut her out of his life, not one that he could articulate to her, in any case. Ron had moments where he had been absolutely awful, Hermione's only sin had been being over-careful with his Firebolt. Harry sighed mentally. He would just have to be a royal arse.

"I have different priorities now. And they don't include being friends with the likes of you or Ronald Weasley. I'm petitioning for a re-sort to be placed in my proper house."

That was it. Hermione was brimming with tears. "The likes of RON? The likes of _me?_ Spent a bit of time with Malfoy and now you're too god to hang out with a muggleborn? Like your _mother_ was?"

Harry saw red. "Don't you DARE bring my mother into this! Just because I don't want to be friends with you that does NOT mean that you can go tossing my mother's memory around like some THING! She was a PERSON! She is NOT just some political weapon you can use to control how I FEEL about a situation, or make who she was define who I AM."

Hermione recoiled as though he had physically hit her. "That's… that's not what I meant at all! I just meant that…"

"Why would you even mention her if you didn't mean to use her against me? I don't need to be guilt tripped into being friends with someone. Especially not people who want to use me. I'm done with both of you, hoping to ride my coattails into lucrative positions. You have talent. You are smart, you can do without Weasley. I just know that if I continue being friends with you somehow you'd try and shoehorn your little boyfriend back in to make it like it used to be. And it is for that reason among many that I cannot associate with you anymore. We have different agendas. We are on different paths."

Hermione was crying now, tears making silent tracks down her face. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I said that and I'm sorry you feel that way."

Harry nearly broke when he saw Hermione's tears. He felt awful, but it was for the best.

"It's inevitable. People change. We're moving in different paths. I have to focus on my OWLs and building my alliances for the future. I can't do that with Ron around. He's already hurt me enough as it is by willfully allowing me to alienate myself from my peers for his own selfish gains. And you are not equipped to take the journey I'm on. So this is where we part."

Harry sat up, walking toward the door. When Hermione didn't stop him he continued out. He pretended that he didn't hear the sound of her crying as he continued down the hallway.

* * *

The next morning Harry woke up a little earlier than usual; picked out a higher quality robe than the one he had worn the day before, and actually styled his hair. Sure, it was just a bit of gel to make his hair look more like organized chaos, but the mussed look was purposeful rather than just inattention to detail.

After packing all of his belongings again, he waltzed out of the Room and down to breakfast. The hall was only halfway full, but his quarry was already sitting at the table, flipping through a textbook and eating a scone. Harry walked over to the table and sat down as though it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Good morning, Draco."

Draco Malfoy looked up, blinked and nodded. "Good morning Harry. Nice of you to join us, finally."

Harry wondered about that, but he had the presence of mind not to question it right now, so he played off of Draco's nonchalance. "Sorry to have deprived you of my magnificent presence, but I had places to be, things to do."

Harry pulled the butter to him, simultaneously taking a slice of toast from the pile and preparing to assemble a breakfast sandwich. The whispers from other tables skyrocketed, and Harry made the tactical decision to ignore them.

"Morning Draco, Morning Harry." A feminine voice sounded to Harry's right, and he turned to find Pansy Parkinson sitting down next to him like she had done so for years.

"Good Morning, Pansy." Harry responded, wondering mentally if he had stumbled into some bizzaro world. Sure, he had talked to them over the train ride from London but he did not expect this level of familiarity from the Slytherins in his year, much less the fact that nobody else at the table seemed to think it was strange that he was sitting across from Draco building a breakfast sandwich like it was the most normal thing he had ever done. The other houses, however, were a veritable buzz of gossip.

Harry looked down the table, casually as if he was just scanning the room. There was a group of younger students who looked decidedly uncomfortable. At least second years, as the group of firsties had paid him no mind and were in a tightly huddled mass at the far end of the table. The 'leader' of the other young Slytherins, a dark haired boy, kept looking at Draco every few seconds, as though he imagined the blonde would jump up and make an announcement at any moment. When said student saw Harry looking down the table at him, he flushed bright with embarrassment and turned to his group, whispering and looking down.

Harry looked at Draco, who had a satisfied smirk on his face as he turned back to face Harry.

"Third years. Sometimes they're just as bad as firsties."

Harry suppressed a smile of his own. So that was the game. Everybody had been ordered to pretend that his sitting at the Slytherin table was a normal occurrence. Harry assumed that it was Draco who did the commanding, and that it had a lot to do with his training with the Dark Lord this summer.

"Budge over, Harry." Nott ordered, and Harry looked up to see the skinny boy, accompanied by Blaise Zabini, who took the empty seat next to Draco.

"He's fine across from me, Theo. Did you manage to wake Crabbe and Goyle?"

Theo nodded. "Yeah. They'll be along, but I will pack a couple of sausages and some toast for them. They get easily confused when they don't have enough to eat." Theo plopped down next to Harry and started gathering his own breakfast.

Draco chuckled. "You should let them go hungry, they would have had plenty of time to get down to breakfast if they woke up on time like the rest of us, but not everyone is a disciplined as Harry and I are."

Pansy rolled her eyes. "You only get up early because you take so long to get dressed."

"Ha. Like you don't?" a light voice chuckled, and Harry turned to look at the newcomer, who was sitting down on the other side of him, pushing some unfortunate student further down the bench.

Pansy scoffed. "Says the girl who just got to breakfast."

"I'll have you know I was not late on my own accord. I was helping Astoria revise for Runes. Morning Draco, Harry." The newcomer spoke. Strawberry blonde hair framed a petite face set with light blue-green eyes that sparkled with warmth.

"Good Morning." Harry responded to the girl. She was a fifth year, he recognized her from his classes, but he never had the occasion to interact with her.

"Hey Daphne, can you pass the marmalade?" Blaise asked.

"Sure." The now known Daphne did as asked. "Looking forward to Defense, Harry?"

Harry nodded. "I am. I wonder what we're going to learn." He wasn't sure how the Slytherins would handle hearing that he thought the book was rubbish.

Blaise snorted. "Likely nothing if the book is any indication. Not in class anyway."

Draco shook his head. "We'll learn plenty."

Harry looked at him in confusion, but when the blonde didn't elaborate Harry let the subject drop. They chatted a few more moments about nothing in particular when a spectacular gust of wind exploded in the direction of the Gryffindor table and suddenly the sound level of the Hall rose exponentially.

"Harry! Mate! What are you doing over there with those snakes?" Ron exploded.

Harry sighed. He almost made it the whole meal without his experiment failing.

"I'm eating breakfast with my friends. Isn't that obvious?"

"But Harry! I'm your friend! I'm the only person you should be eating breakfast with!"

Harry did not stand up, even as Ron stalked over to him.

"First of all, Ron, ew. I made it clear that we are no longer friends, nor are we associates. I eat breakfast with whomever I please and how dare for you to presume upon my time otherwise." Harry informed his former friend. Ron was dense when he wanted to be, and the twinging in his ankle informed him that his Master would not be pleased that he was giving Ron the time of day. It would turn into full blown pain soon enough.

"But they're Slytherins! How could you stand to sit with them! They probably want to kill you! Especially after you-know-who came back! They're probably all Death Eaters!"

Harry glared at Ron. This was getting annoying. "I would kindly ask you to stop spreading rumors about me, especially vile rumors such as that. Now kindly remove yourself before I get annoyed."

"Yeah, Weasel. Leave. You're lowering our quality of life just by standing near our table." Draco quipped. The other fifth years laughed.

Ron turned to Harry, to see if he agreed with Draco. Harry's ankle told him what he needed to do.

"I don't know why you're looking at me. I told you to leave already."

"Seriously mate, it's disgusting! They probably cursed you or are using some devious dark magic to control you! There's no way you'd be over here by your own whim! What would your pa…"

Harry stood up and glared at the ginger. "You finish that sentence and you'll wish you never had." He saw a figure walking down the aisle towards him and put on his best smirk. "Although I'm not the one you have to worry about just now."

Ron's face turned a dark red and he opened his mouth, possibly another anti-Slytherin rant, but was cut short by a drawling voice.

"Mr. Weasley, is there a reason why you are disturbing breakfast so?"

Ron turned around and was met with a scowling Professor Snape. Harry sat back down

"Harry…"

"Mr. Potter is eating breakfast. I doubt he appreciates the insinuation that HE is the cause of your disturbance? Do you appreciate that, Mr. Potter?"

Harry quickly hid his shock. "No, sir. I was simply sitting with Draco here, catching up with my good friend…"

Draco continued. "Yes, and we were discussing Mother's upcoming trip to France. There is a confectionary there that sells these little candies that she knows Harry is fond of…"

"And I was hoping she might order some for me, and pick up some new swatches for a set of robes I am ordering. I could order them by owl but Narcissa has such excellent taste and I know that she would get better samples in person than I could by owl. She was so helpful arranging my new wardrobe this summer, after all." Harry finished.

"Yes, and Weasley here rudely interrupted us with vile rumours and despicable behaviour." Draco smirked.

"Yes. He said the most awful things and we were just asking him to go away and leave us in peace." Harry glanced at Ron, who was purple. Perhaps it was the references to his spending time at Malfoy Manor this summer. Oh well. Those were his orders, and he had enjoyed the time spent in the company of the Malfoys.

Professor Snape shivered, in spite of himself. He knew from Lucius that the Potter boy had spent some time at the Manor, and that Narcissa had taken quite the liking to the boy, but the familiarity and comfort that he shared with Draco was frightening. No good could come from such an unholy alliance.

"Mr. Weasley, you are causing a disturbance and I suggest you go back to your own table or to your next class before I dock points."

"But.." Ron began

"Ten points from Gryffindor. Go back to your table."

Ron huffed and stomped off back to the Gryffindor table. Snape then turned and looked at the rest of the Slytherin table.

"Be sure to report to me if he causes any further problems. I told the Headmaster when he appointed Weasley as a prefect that there would be problems, and the younger students don't need to suffer his incompetency."

After a nod down the table, the Professor swept off and out the door, probably to be ready for his next class. It was time for all of them to go, actually.

"That was, unique." Harry remarked as they gathered their belongings and started heading out of the door.

"Unique?" Draco paused. "Oh yes, you're not used to Professor Snape being fair to you. He knew your father, at least that's what my father says. They didn't get along."

Harry snorted. "I could have guessed that. I wonder what changed."

Draco pulled him back and Harry fell into place behind the rest of the group. "Severus is a family friend, and it is likely that he and Father talked, especially considering your goal to become a Slytherin hinges a lot on Severus' treatment of you this term. It is likely that the mere fact that you spent the rest of the summer at the Manor has Severus re-evaluating his opinion of you."

Harry understood, but was still filled with questions. "Still doesn't make sense why he would dislike me from the very start. I know he hated my father and his friends, but I am not my father."

Draco shrugged as they rounded the corner to the History classroom. "It's probably more complicated than any of us has the right to know. Father wouldn't share the details, and Severus certainly isn't talking. The only thing we can assume is that whatever feelings he had for your father were transferred over to you, and your change in circumstance has caused him to re-evaluate those feelings."

Harry nodded once, and then the puzzle piece fell into place. "Oh."

Draco chuckled. "Oh indeed. Just like we had many misconceptions about you before we talked to you properly, he did as well. And it seems as though you are still a bit ignorant of the situation around you, and the players involved."

Harry could only agree. "Seems that way. Maybe he's just a nasty piece of work. "

Draco shrugged. "I don't know. Something awful must have happened in order for Severus to harbor such long lasting hatred for everything connected with James Potter, including you."

Harry had a couple of clues, but did not want to share them with Draco. "Oh well, at least I have you and your _vast connections _to help me navigate what four years of ignorance has wrought. Had I known that Snape was having a one-way blood feud with me without my knowledge I could have done something. It's not like the Weasley-Malfoy feud by any stretch of the imagination..."

Draco smirked. "I told you I could help you, and you didn't believe me. Not sure what I can do about Snape, but I'm certain that will work itself out in time." Draco gave him a significant look and Harry knew that the Dark Lord would get involved if Snape tried to do anything to his 'pet project'.

"But I can still help you even now. The waters are choppy and you are a new player, even if you learned more in a summer than you did the whole first four years you were back. ."

Harry nodded. "I know, Draco, I know. Sometimes it just feels like I've wasted all my time."

Draco smiled. "As long as we draw breath and have magic in our blood there is time. We started over. I'd like to think we make a good team, and good friends."

Harry smiled back, nodding. "Come on, before all the good seats are taken."

* * *

Harry rolled his eyes as he walked into the Professor's office. He'd taken the precaution of dosing himself with some aspirin he'd thankfully found in his bag, a holdover from his Dursley days. Hopefully nothing bad would come out of the meeting, and he wouldn't have to explain himself to the Dark Lord later.

"Mr. Potter, thank you for meeting with me. Can you explain to me what the problem is between yourself and Mr. Weasley?"

Harry sighed. She was probably referring to the 'incident' at breakfast. "I don't know why you care. When he was being a horrible person last year you didn't drag him into your office. Nor did you intervene when people slandered my name last year and two years ago. But now, suddenly, I stop associating with him and it's a crisis. Did the Headmaster put you up to this?"

Professor McGonagall frowned. "I don't know what you mean, Mr. Potter. I was just concerned that with all that is going on you may be unnecessarily isolating yourself from your friends."

Harry snorted. "Really? Is that all? I was under the impression that a person could choose their own friends at Hogwarts, madam. I've changed. Ronald Weasley is the reason I have to work so hard now to catch up to where I should have been by now, he's the reason I spent most of the summer re-learning everything I would need to know for my OWLs and he's also the reason I'm in Divination instead of Ancient Runes and Arithmacy. I didn't know anything about any of the classes, and figuring he would know something I asked him."

McGonagall frowned. "Why would you do that rather than consulting me?"

Harry shrugged. "With all due respect, ma'am, you never made it clear that we could come to you if we had questions or concerns about anything. Anytime I DID go to your office you dismissed my concerns even if they were justified. I never felt that I could come into your office with concerns if it was not an emergency. I'm not sure I felt that I could come in with my concerns even with an emergency. So I asked Ron, because it's not like my guardians cared anything about my education, in fact it was quite the opposite. It was not until this summer when my Ministry tutors were helping me revise that anybody said anything about my disturbing lack of knowledge. They were quite appalled about how little I knew about my core subjects, aside from Defense. More so because of the fact that two of the past four years I was exempted from final exams that would have helped discover weaknesses in my education and help me formulate a plan of study. We evaluated the reasons for my academic shortcomings and one of the biggest problems was Ron's negative influence on my study habits. He and Hermione are tied at the hip, so I can't get rid of one without getting rid of the other. My and Hermione's OWLs will be better for it."

The Professor frowned. "I'm sorry you feel that way, Mr Potter. But are you certain that you aren't being a bit drastic?"

"No. He misled me and I'm better off without him. Is that all you needed to talk to me about?"

The professor shook her head. "Your schedule change. Are you certain you want to drop Divination?"

Harry snorted. "I can do without having that fraud continue to predict my death over and over again in class. Besides, I didn't get any information about the other classes I could have been taking. My tutors and I talked about the various career options available to me based on my strengths and weaknesses, and with extra tuition I can get my OWL and NEWT in several other subjects, thus opening myself up to other careers besides becoming an Auror. Just because my father did it that does not mean that I want to be one. I might hate it, and it would be unfortunate to be stuck without the OWL and NEWT scores I would need to change careers should I so desire to do so. So yes, I want to drop Divination and continue with my private tutor in the alternate classes, hopefully catching up in order to take NEWT Arithmacy and Ancient Runes with my peers."

Professor McGonagall shook her head. While it could be done, especially if Harry had already started studying, it would be next to impossible for him to be ready to take the OWLs in time for him to add the NEWTs to his schedule. There was the matter still of his claiming to be uninformed. He still should have known long before now about the NEWT requirements, since everyone received a packet to that effect before selecting classes.

"That is well and good to realize that now, Mr. Potter, but all of that information was in the course guide packet we sent out during the summer prior to your second year. Although I was concerned that you did not decide to take advantage of coming to my office for counselling prior to choosing your third-year courses, I supposed that your choice was because you already knew what courses you wanted to take and didn't need assistance. And before you ask, yes, everyone gets a course packet sent out, regardless of whether or not you have parents who are wizards. We include a course guideline telling students what classes to take based on their career choice, as well as minimum OWL and NEWT scores required for each career. We also include relevant curriculum changes."

Harry was shocked. "I never received anything like that. I had a small issue with my mail before second year."

Professor McGonagall frowned. "Really? That's disturbing. How can you be expected to make an informed decision without those guides? I'll look into what we can do about getting the Headmaster to sign off on your course changes."

Harry smiled. "Thank you, Professor."

McGonagall nodded. "Of course, Mr. Potter. Now you petitioned for a re-sort, any particular reason?"

"Several, all of which I outlined in my letter, ma'am."

The older witch nodded. "You don't feel comfortable in my House, you feel that being a Gryffindor is compromising your academics, and you 'asked' the hat to put you in Gryffindor and wish to see if the Hat would reconsider. Are you certain?"

Harry looked at the Deputy Headmistress incredulously. "With all due respect, ma'am. I would not have put in the petition if I was not sure that it was the best course of action. Every year that I have been here there has been conflict and controversy surrounding me, and aside from Mr. Malfoy the worst offenders have been members of my own house. I have worked out my differences with Draco, but this summer was the first time we have been able to interact outside of Hogwarts and the expectations of our houses. Similar efforts within Gryffindor have led to failure. Besides, I haven't been able to be myself since I got here. To everyone here, I'm just a clone of my father, for better or worse. I used to be so careful, because without caution and the utmost care and planning anything I did could result in a punishment whether or not I messed up. I've gotten sloppy, reckless."

McGonagall pursed her lips. "Very well. I don't agree, and I think you should keep trying with your housemates first, but you filed a proper petition so I will forward it to the proper channels."

Harry nodded. "Thank you."

The professor gave a curt nod. "Of course, Mr. Potter. Unless there is something you needed from me you are free to go."

Harry turned and left the office, thankful that Dumbledore had not forced his way into the discussion. Harry was prepared for that to happen sooner rather than later, since Dumbledore had been most insistent every summer that he returns to the Dursleys, for his own protection. The Headmaster would want to know where the Ministry had taken him. Harry was aware that Dumbledore had been there the day he had been taken from the Dursleys, but apparently the Ministry had been mum on where he had gone after his initial triage at St. Mungos. He would have to be prepared if the Headmaster tried to corner him to find out where he had beenSt. He expressed concern about being forced to meet with Dumbledore during one of his last meetings with the Dark Lord, and his master told him there would be nothing to worry about, so long as Harry did not seek out a meeting or give away sensitive information. He was ordered to try his hardest to avoid the meeting at all cost, and to contact Lucius if Dumbledore forced the issue. Still, the Headmaster had the habit of showing up just on time. Before that had been a good thing, but now...

Harry made his way back to the Room of Requirement, he thought about how much had changed since he last was at Hogwarts.

He had considerably more knowledge about magic, spells and his own history. There were still holes, large ones, but Lucius promised to find someone who could teach him about his family history. Harry thought Sirius would be a good candidate, but his godfather was still in hiding somewhere in France.

He had not been able to tell Sirius much, only that he was safe and not to worry. Harry knew he would have to keep up regular correspondence so that Sirius didn't panic, but he also needed to plan out a way for Sirius to gain his freedom. Maybe the Dark Lord would give him Pettigrew in exchange for something.

That was another change, a major one. He was no longer being hunted by the Dark Lord or his Death Eaters. Harry knew there was a strict 'no antagonizing' rule handed down by the Dark Lord, and that as long as he continued to be the Dark Lord's bonded servant he would not have to worry about attacks from that faction. He still had to worry about the Ministry if they should decide he was a threat, but aside from the Dark Lord's requirements regarding who he could associate with he was free to be normal, for once.

The one thing he did wish, however, was that he could keep himself from thinking about Ron, Hermione and the Headmaster with regret. Harry ignored the twinge in his ankle as he thought about his first friends and his former mentor. Maybe it would have been easier to abandon them if they had done something against him, but nothing made him hate the Headmaster the way the Dark Lord wanted him to. Disliking the centenarian seemed to be a requirement among the Dark Lord's followers, and Harry supposed that one day his loyalty to the Dark Lord would surpass anything he felt for the venerable Headmaster. But for now, he could only keep his distance and hope it was enough to appease his new master.

Harry laughed at the irony. He had always wanted to be 'just Harry', and not a Freak or the Boy-Who-Lived. The man who took away his chance at a normal family was the very same one who reversed his fortunes. He knew that it was because of the Dark Lord and Lucius that the Ministry got involved at Privet Drive and it was the Dark Lord who provided tutors for him to fill in the blanks from his previous four years at Hogwarts. Sure, he was still famous, but now instead of dodging assassination attempts at every turn and being afraid that every strange thing that happened to him was because of the Dark Lord, he could relax. It was a liberating feeling, realizing that for the first time since Hagrid told him how his parents really died he was free from the shadow of being another wizard's unfinished business.

With a new bounce in his step, Harry changed direction and decided to head down to Myrtle's bathroom. If the dead basilisk was still there, maybe it could be turned into something useful. And if Salazar Slytherin really built the Chamber, perhaps there was something else useful down there. If anything he could stay down there instead of converting the Room of Requirement every night like some kind of vagrant. His stuff would be secure and he could actually make himself comfortable.

It would be good until he was able to change dorms. He was quite certain that sleeping in the Chamber of Secrets might violate some school rule that he didn't know about, bringing him in contact with Dumbledore. The fact that he had yet to step foot in Gryffindor was probably lost on most, although he was surprised that McGonagall didn't know.

Oh well, not his problem. He had temporary housing to arrange.

* * *

*adapted from the speech she gave in OoTP

That's it. This chapter took a lot of finesse. It went through numerous re-edits before I felt the tone of the chapter was right without threatening the integrity of the story or messing with the plot. Seriously, I spent nearly a week editing it after I finished it, and ended up scrapping entire sections.

Coming up! Hermione and Ron discuss Harry's changes, we find out what Sirius has been up to, and the first Defense class. Plus, Snape's new orders, Lucius reports in and more!


End file.
